Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth testifies Jan. 14, 2025, during his Senate confirmation hearing. The Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday, Jan. 20, advanced Hegseth’s nomination to become President Donald Trump’s defense secretary, sending the matter to the Senate floor for a vote. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday advanced Pete Hegseth’s bid to become President Donald Trump’s defense secretary, sending his nomination to the Senate floor over the objections of Democrats.

The vote in favor of Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, was 14-13. His nomination moved forward several hours after Trump was sworn in for his second term and likely will be approved by the full Senate, where Republicans hold a majority. The Senate vote could take place in the next several days.

Robert Salesses, a former Marine and longtime assistant defense secretary, is serving as the acting defense secretary until a new defense secretary is confirmed.

Republicans on the committee admitted Hegseth is an unconventional choice for the top Pentagon job — Trump had selected a four-star general, James Mattis, and then an Army secretary, Mark Esper, during his first term. But the Republican senators nonetheless rallied around Hegseth and said he would inject a “new warrior ethos” into the Pentagon.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the panel, has said Hegseth will shake up the bureaucracy of the Defense Department, which has a budget of nearly $900 billion and employs 3 million people, and be an effective leader with the help of a team of experienced top officials.

Democrats, meanwhile, derided Hegseth’s lack of traditional credentials and said his views on the laws of war and women in combat as well as accusations that he mismanaged two veterans organizations, excessively drank at work and sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 made him unfit for the position.

“If a service member had the same record of misconduct, they would be disqualified from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the secretary of defense,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the committee, said last week after Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.

Hegseth waved away questions about his alleged transgressions during his hearing and claimed to be the victim of a “coordinated smear campaign” by anonymous sources and the media. He would not say whether sexual assault, excessive drinking or marital infidelity disqualified someone from consideration for defense secretary.

“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I’m prepared for,” he said.

Hegseth has described himself as a “change agent” who, if confirmed, will weed out diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the Pentagon and remove what he believes are quotas for women in combat roles. He opposed women serving in combat positions before softening that stance as he sought support for his nomination.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in the Iraq War, excoriated Hegseth on Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor, saying his inability to name one international agreement the defense secretary would be responsible for and failing to answer other questions exposed his inadequacy.

“This was pitiful, yet predictable, from a guy who said that we women do not belong in combat, who’s dared to claim that the military is lowering its standards so that we poor, fragile, fair sex and, God forbid, us moms, can serve,” said Duckworth, who sits on the committee. “The only standards being lowered today are the ones for secretary of defense.”

Democrats also expressed concern about Hegseth’s previous advocacy for pardons for troops charged with war crimes, support for the reinstitution of interrogation methods such as waterboarding and dismissive comments toward the Geneva Conventions.

Hegseth told senators that there was a “tactical distinction” between international laws and fighting on the ground.

“I’ve thought very deeply about the balance between legality and lethality, ensuring that the men and women on the front lines have the opportunity to destroy… the enemy, and that lawyers aren’t the ones getting in the way,” he said.

Hegseth’s plans for the Defense Department include a review of senior officers “based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given” and the reinstatement, with back pay, of service members who were kicked out of the military for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine.

He also said he opposes the use of federal funds for abortions, echoing an argument other Republicans have used to push for rescinding the Pentagon’s travel reimbursement policy for service members in need of abortions and other reproductive health care.