In a 51 to 49 vote Thursday, the Senate advanced Hegseth's nomination, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition. The vote started the clock on up to 30 hours of debate as senators spar over the nominee, while the GOP barrels forward, expecting to finalize his confirmation in a vote late Friday evening.

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.