A cloud of controversy has hung over Hegseth, but he now appears to be on track to be confirmed as Trump's defense secretary.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is denying that she reportedly rejected an offer to meet privately with the woman who has accused President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, of sexual assault.

The nominee can only afford to lose three GOP senators if Democrats unite against him so attention could now shift to Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins and other potential swing votes.

Maine's independent senator joins Democrats in voting against the Trump nominee over concerns about his answers regarding the rules of international warfare.

Stonewalling questions about his sexual behavior and excessive drinking as “anonymous smears,” the Fox host charmed the Senate Armed Services Committee’s GOP majority into submission.

The Iowa Republican’s decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Mr. Hegseth will have enough votes to be confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s defense secretary.

It is the first serious test of Donald Trump’s newly invigorated strongman model of governance and of whether he can continue to bend the Republican Party to his will even as Hegseth breaks procedural precedents,

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who had been seen as a key Republican skeptic of Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department, said she will support him after his performance at Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.

Senators of both parties hammered Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense nominee, over his past comments about women serving in the military.

WASHINGTON − Senators pressed Pete Hegseth on his alleged history of heavy drinking, shifting views on women in the military, and his treatment of women in a wide-ranging and often combative confirmation hearing on Tuesday to assess if he is up to the job of Secretary of Defense.

Maine's independent senator asked President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Pentagon about his views on women in combat, torture and the war in Ukraine.