(NewsNation) — Pete Hegseth praised Jesus, President Donald Trump and his wife Jennifer for his Senate-confirmed position as Secretary of Defense.
After being sworn in, Hegseth thanked those of greatest importance to him before saying it is “the honor of a lifetime to serve under [the president].”
Hegseth added, “We will put America first, we will bring peace through strength. [At the Pentagon], we will restore the warrior ethos in everything that we do, rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence.”
Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaking vote allowed for Hegseth’s nomination to go through, despite tough grilling from legislators during the confirmation process.
“We don’t want to fight wars, we want to deter them and we want to end them responsibly,” Hegseth said. “But, if we need to fight them, we’re going to bring overwhelming and decisive force to close with and destroy the enemy, and bring our boys home.”
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His children and wife joined him on stage as Vance swore him in.
“I have to say a few words of appreciation, first, of course, to the President of the United States for nominating a person who is respected and adorned by the war fighters,” Vance said. “I also want to say thank you to my Senate colleagues. It turns out we couldn’t spare one.”
Trump praised the Senate’s decision.
He wrote on Truth Social late Friday, “Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense.”
On Saturday before the swearing-in, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, showed his support.
“Congratulations to Pete Hegseth on being confirmed as Secretary of Defense,” Turner said in a statement. “As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I look forward to working with Secretary Hegseth on rebuilding our military and its readiness to meet the challenges posed by our adversaries.”
Former Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opposed Hegseth’s appointment, voting no on Friday.
