The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth late Friday, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon.

The Senate on Friday night voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary after Vice President JD Vance stepped in to cast the tiebreaking vote. Hegseth’s nomination had been hampered by allegations of misconduct.

Hegseth, through his attorney, firmly denied the latest allegations, which come as his nomination to lead the Pentagon is set to go before the Senate this week.

A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

The vote came amid concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and abusive behavior toward women.

Democrats harshly criticized President Donald Trump for a news conference Thursday in which he said that his predecessors and diversity were to blame for Wednesday night’s fatal collision of an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Three of President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees faced sharp questions in the Senate during hearings Thursday from Democrats as well as several Republican senators in what amounted to the most direct skepticism from GOP senators over Trump’s nominees to date.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s confirmation hearings are set to begin Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee on Thursday. The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for health secretary, repeatedly confused Medicare and Medicaid. He also tried to convince senators he was not against vaccines, despite past statements.

That’s called “jointness,” about which Hegseth knows little. He touted his Army background in the National Guard as a qualification to be secretary of Defense, but just as different cultures, goals and methods divide allies in a coalition, they also divide military branches.

Three Trump picks will get committee hearings on Wednesday as Republicans work to get his nominations confirmed.

Trump continues his crackdown on illegal immigration and takes executive action on federal aid and DEI initiatives.