The Senate voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth, as defense secretary on Friday night after a high-tempered battle to sway lawmakers in his favor that was almost derailed by accusations about his behavior. 

The final vote came down to the wire: three Republicans opposed, making for a 50 to 50 vote. Vice President JD Vance was needed to break the tie in the upper chamber, putting the final tally at 51-50.

‘Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social after Hegseth’s confirmation.

The Senate’s two moderate Republican women: Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted no. As did Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former GOP leader. 

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis’ support was not a given, and he did not reveal his stance until the vote was already underway. He ultimately said he would back Trump’s pick, giving him enough support to be confirmed with Vance’s tie-breaking vote. 

In her reasoning, Murkowski cited infidelity, ‘allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking’ and Hegseth’s previous comments on women serving in the military. 

The behaviors he has admitted to alone, she said, show ‘a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.’

Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), the nonprofit advocacy group at the center of many of the accusations brought up during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, praised his confirmation in a statement. 

‘The confirmation of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense presents a real opportunity to prioritize the security and prosperity of our citizens, champion prudence and effectiveness in our defense strategy, and focus our Department of Defense on America’s most vital interests,’ the statement read. 

The New Yorker reported in December that Hegseth was forced out of CVA, the group he once ran, over allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct. 

All Democrats opposed the confirmation, a far cry from an earlier vote this week, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously, 99-0.

Hegseth will now lead the government’s largest agency, having long promised to root out Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures across each branch. 

The Pentagon under Trump, however, has not waited for a confirmed secretary. 

This week, the commander of the Air Force‘s 613th Air Operations Center in Hawaii, who had advocated for more women in roles like her own, was removed from her position. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, relieved Col. Julie Sposito-Salceies from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, ‘due to loss of confidence in her ability to command the organization.’

Shortly after Trump took office, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first uniformed woman to lead any military branch, was removed from her position. 

Trump this week also nominated former Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier and former Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller to top Defense Department posts – both men who were deeply critical of the Biden administration’s policies at the Pentagon. 

Lohmeier, who had been nominated to serve as undersecretary of the Air Force, was fired as commander of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force base, after he wrote a book and appeared on podcasts claiming Marxism had infiltrated the armed forces and criticizing diversity policies.

Scheller made headlines for posting videos in uniform criticizing senior military leaders over the Afghanistan withdrawal. Scheller, the new senior advisor to the Department of Defense Under Secretary for personnel and readiness, was sent to the brig and court-martialed over the clips. 

Hegseth’s nomination was dealt a last-minute hurdle earlier this week when reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged he had abused his second wife. 

On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleged he had an alcohol abuse problem and at times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was previously married to Pete Hegseth’s brother and has no relation to Samantha.

But Danielle Hegseth added that she never witnessed any abuse herself, physical or sexual, by Pete against Samantha. 

Samantha Hegseth has also denied any physical abuse in a statement to NBC News.

Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said in a statement Wednesday night that reports ‘regarding a confidential briefing on the FBI background investigation of Pete Hegseth that I received last week are starkly and factually inaccurate,’ and that he stands by Hegseth’s nomination.

Earlier Thursday, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Republicans to join him in opposing the former Fox News host and Army national guardsman. 

‘Hegseth is so utterly unqualified, he ranks up there [as] … one of the very worst nominees that could be put forward,’ Schumer said.

Hegseth, who has been married three times, has admitted he was a ‘serial cheater’ before he became a Christian and married his current wife, Jenny. 

The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is relatively young and inexperienced, compared to defense secretaries in the past, retiring as a major. But Republicans say they don’t want someone who made it to the top brass who’s become entrenched in the Pentagon establishment. 

The nomination of Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., to be the next Homeland Security secretary defeated a key hurdle in the confirmation process on Friday night, advancing to a final vote later this weekend. 

Her confirmation vote is expected to take place early Sunday morning. 

If confirmed, Noem will become the fourth of President Donald Trump’s picks to be advanced out of the Senate, behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and incoming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. 

Votes that are expected soon after Noem’s are those for Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent, followed by Transportation Secretary pick Sean Duffy. 

The South Dakota governor is expected to receive bipartisan support for her confirmation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) by a vote of 13-2. Only two Democrats voted against her. 

‘I was the first Governor to send National Guard troops to Texas when they were being overwhelmed by an unprecedented border crisis,’ Noem told the committee during her confirmation hearing last week. 

‘If confirmed as Secretary, I will ensure that our exceptional, extraordinary border patrol agents have all the tools and resources and support they need to carry out their mission effectively.’

The terrorist group Hamas released four additional hostages from Gaza on Saturday after a ceasefire deal with Israel took effect nearly a week ago.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag — all of whom are members of the Israeli Defense Forces —were freed on Saturday in the second round of hostage releases.

In exchange, Israel was expected to free 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees, including 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.

The first round of hostage releases on Sunday freed Romi Gonen, Emily Demari, and Doron Steinbrecher.

Video from Palestine Square in Gaza shows the four newly released women hostages being taken from the cars. They are alive and walking, wearing uniforms.

‘The Red Cross has communicated that four Israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,’ the IDF and Israeli Securities Authority said in a joint statement.

The four female soldiers were believed to have been, at least at one time, held all together.

Under the ceasefire deal, a total of 33 hostages are to be set free over the course of six weeks, including those already released, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Hamas agreed to release three female hostages on the first day of the deal, four on the seventh day and the remaining 26 over the next five weeks.

This is the second cease-fire achieved during the war that began more than a year ago.

The 15-month-long war in Gaza started when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting military retaliation from Israeli forces. Nearly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

President Donald Trump is back in the White House and moving at warp speed to push through his long-awaited agenda with dozens of executive orders, surveying damaged areas in North Carolina and California, and rallying behind his Cabinet nominees to get confirmed.

In his inauguration address on Monday, the new president vowed that things across the country would ‘change starting today, and it will change very quickly.’ And moments later, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich took to social media to tease, ‘Now, comes SHOCK AND AWE.’

Trump signed an avalanche of executive orders and actions in his first eight hours in office, which not only fulfilled major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles as well as settle some longstanding grievances.

The president immediately cracked down on immigration; moved towards a trade war with top allies and adversaries; and reversed many policies implemented by former President Joe Biden, including scrapping much of the previous administration’s federal diversity actions and energy and climate provisions.

He also sparked a major controversy by pardoning or commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 supporters who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to upend congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. Among those whose sentences were commuted included some who violently assaulted police officers on one of America’s darkest days.

Trump also fired some top government officials; made a high-profile, half-trillion dollar tech investment announcement; held unscripted and wide-ranging, informal and impromptu news conferences during his first two days back at the White House; and even renamed the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America.’

The frenetic pace kept up throughout the week, with more executive orders signed and actions taken by Trump and his new administration during the first 100 hours in office.

Amid the fast-paced environment of the first week of the Trump White House, Senate Republicans and the president’s allies are rallying behind his Cabinet nominees and pushing them to get confirmed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Radcliffe were confirmed by the Senate earlier this week, and several other nominees are expected to be confirmed between the weekend and next week. 

On Friday, the president took to the skies, flying to hurricane-ravaged western North Carolina and then on to Los Angeles, where horrific wildfires this month have left a wide path of destruction.

‘I think it’s brilliant how they’ve been handling it, to immediately meet the moment with action. It’s exactly what he needs to do and it’s exactly what the people voted for,’ veteran Republican strategist Kristin Davison told Fox News.

‘Americans vote for decisive, fast action, and true leadership. And Trump understands that more than anyone. I think he and his team knew how important it was out of the gate to show that they heard what the people wanted and are answering with leadership,’ she argued.

Longtime Republican consultant Alex Castellanos agreed.

‘He’s flooding the zone. He’s making a case for action. He’s demonstrating action. He is rallying a wave of American support for a massive transformation of government,’ Castellanos, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News. 

Seasoned Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo didn’t dispute Trump’s frenetic actions.

‘The pace of this shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Trump made it abundantly clear he was going to act quickly, he was going to act boldly, and he was going to do exactly what he told voters he would do,’ he said.

But Caiazzo argued that ‘the things he is doing is going to directly negatively impact working families from coast to coast. It’s also a signal he has no respect for the rule of law.’ 

Asked if Trump’s actions were what Americans voted for this past autumn, Caiazzo replied, ‘Of course not. What Americans voted for was cheaper groceries. What Donald Trump is going to give us is a litany of policies that work to deteriorate our institutions, that work to enrich the wealthy and solidify his standing among the oligarchy in this country.’

There’s another reason for Trump’s fast pace — even though he’s the new president, he’s also a term-limited and lame-duck president. And by Labor Day, much of the political world will start looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections.

‘This is his second term. He’s got to move quickly,’ Davison emphasized.

Trump’s show of force in the opening days of his second administration is also in contrast to eight years ago, when he first entered the White House.

The president and his team are much more seasoned the second time around, and the supporting cast is intensely loyal to Trump.

‘In the past administration, there would be logjams and bottlenecks because there were people who didn’t agree with him,’ a senior White House source told Fox News. ‘Now we have a whole infrastructure and staff that’s built around him, in support of him. When he says something, it’s getting done. It’s testament to him and the team that he built.’

Credit is also being given to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who, as co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, kept the trains on the tracks.

‘What Susie has done is look at the totality of Trump and found the best players and put them in the best positions to support the president. Trump is surrounded by Trump people who’ve all proven themselves over the years not just to be loyal but ultra-competent operators,’ added an adviser, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely.

More than 200,000 children have been abducted by Russia since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, Chairman Emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said, citing U.S. estimates.

‘If a foreign adversary took 260,000 of our kids, and they were in indoctrination camps, I mean, how would we feel about that?’ McCaul asked Fox News Digital.

The Texas Republican was recently term-limited in his time as chairman of the foreign affairs panel, but he is continuing to work on the world stage, in part by raising awareness about Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. Among the most egregious is the relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia, the vast majority of whom have not been returned.

Some parents would be coerced into giving up their children because Russian forces were threatening to bomb their city, McCaul said, while other times ‘they just invade and capture the children.’

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in February 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, ‘for the war crime of unlawful deportation of [children] and that of unlawful transfer of [children] from occupied areas of Ukraine.’

Lvova-Belova was sanctioned last year by the U.S. over her part in the scheme, which has been widely condemned by western governments.

However, the Kremlin has denied war crime allegations and maintained it is doing humanitarian work facilitating homes for Ukrainian children, NPR reported.

Existing accounts from returned children and elsewhere paint a picture of forced indoctrination within Russia’s borders, however. Some of those children are given military training, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, likely in preparation to fight on Russia’s front lines.

Estimates on how many children have been taken to Russia vary between 20,000 to upwards of 250,000.

Part of McCaul’s work raising awareness about Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children will include a screening of a documentary titled, ‘Children in the Fire: Ukraine’s War Through the Children’s Eyes’ by filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, at the Munich Security Conference next month.

He has also worked with the nonprofit Save Ukraine, which is working to return children.

‘In the documentary, the child’s brought into this prison where it looks like adults are being— basically they’re using electrodes to shock them, you know, under their fingernails and their genitals, and it’s just very, very barbaric,’ McCaul said.

He also held a hearing last year on the issue while leading the foreign affairs committee.

McCaul said Russia’s abduction of children is among the most vile of its alleged violations of the Geneva Conventions. He compared it to infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele’s experiments on Jewish children and adults.

‘It’s just evil. I mean, any civilization that would capture— I mean, it’s one thing if you’re on the battlefield killing the enemy, from their point of view,’ McCaul said. ‘But to capture the children to re-indoctrinate them is sort of reminiscent of, you know, Mengele’s experiments on kids…And I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this in recent society.’

The House passed a resolution last year condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children in a bipartisan 390 to 9 vote.

‘It’s just horrific. I can’t imagine, as a father, my children being, you know, taken away by the Russian Federation and then not knowing where they are or what’s happening to them,’ McCaul said. ‘But this is all part of Putin’s game, is to try to indoctrinate the children in Ukraine to go against their own country and belief system.’