Pete Hegseth became the new defense secretary on Friday after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
Three Republican senators joined all Democrats in voting no on the confirmation — Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — leading to a 50-50 tie before Vance’s vote.
Both of Utah’s GOP senators, Mike Lee and John Curtis, voted to approve Hegseth’s confirmation.
On Saturday, senators voted 59 to 34 to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Six Democrats joined all Republican senators in approving her nomination.
These votes bring President Donald Trump closer to being able to enact his agenda. Immediately after his inauguration this week, he got to work making the changes he’d promised on the campaign trail.
In his first week in the Oval Office, Trump signed dozens of executive orders, fired thousands of officials and staffers appointed by former President Joe Biden, and pardoned about 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
But as he moves ahead at full speed, his Cabinet confirmations have only slowly made their way through the Senate.
Including Hegseth and Noem, four nominees have been confirmed. Former Sen. Marco Rubio became the secretary of state and John Ratcliffe became the director of the CIA earlier this week.

Pending confirmations
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Trump’s second choice for attorney general after he initially picked former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who ended up withdrawing from consideration. She responded to pointed questions at her hearing over whether she would help if Trump tried to use the Department of Justice to go after his foes. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee put a hold on her confirmation earlier this week, which just delays a vote on Bondi, likely pushing it to early February.
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is facing an easier path. His nomination for the Interior Department cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday in an 18-2 vote.

Another panel, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, advanced the nomination of former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc., as Transportation secretary with all 28 members voting in favor. Both Burgum and Duffy still have to clear floor votes, yet to be scheduled.
A floor vote is teed up for Scott Bessent, the billionaire founder and CEO of hedge fund Key Square Group, after the Senate Finance Committee voted 16 to 11 on Tuesday to advance his nomination as Treasury secretary. On Saturday the Senate voted to close debate on his nomination, so the floor vote could be scheduled as early as next week, Reuters reported.
Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, nominated to lead the Energy Department, fielded questions before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week, including committee chairman Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, as Amy Joi O’Donoghue reported for the Deseret News. The committee approved his nomination in a 15-5 vote on Thursday. The full Senate will vote next.
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., underwent questioning last week by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, including by Utah GOP Sen. John Curtis. He is nominated for the role of administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee grilled former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Trump’s pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, on Tuesday.
Other names
Senate panels have not yet held hearings for some high-profile and controversial picks, like former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the nominee for the director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
Kennedy’s hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 29, according to Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold Gabbard’s hearing the next day.
Businessman Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, and former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon, nominated to run the Education Department, are also waiting for their nomination hearings.