Pete Hegseth has been confirmed as the new Secretary of State but it was not without some drama from a handful of Republicans.
Chief among them was former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who voted ‘yes’ to get Hegseth out of committee and to a full Senate vote but who then voted ‘no’ on his confirmation.
Republicans on X were furious with the 82-year-old senator, and they let him know about it, as some even shared photos of McConnell walking over to the Democrat side of the aisle after casting his vote.
“WTF? Mitch McConnell immediately walked over and CELEBRATED with the Democrats after voting against Hegseth This man HAS TO GO in 2026. The people of Kentucky voted for Trump’s mandate—not this anti-Trump BS,” conservative commentator Nick Sortor said with a video showing the interaction.
“After voting against Pete Hegseth, Mitch McConnell went to the left side of the aisle to hang out with Democrats,” Tim Young said in the caption of a photo.
“Mitch McConnell just voted NO on President Trump’s secretary of defense nominee This led to VP Vance having to rush down to cast a tie-breaking vote, only the 2nd such vote in U.S. history As Republican Senators gather around to congratulate Vance, notice McConnell walk over and SHAKE HANDS with the Democrats. If you thought RFK Jr and Tulsi was going to be easy—think again. The GOP Establishment isn’t going down without a fight. Get ready,” another X user said, offering a prediction for some of President Donald Trump’s more controversial nominees.
“Mitch McConnell is the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Sub Committee. Majority Leader, John Thune should remove him from that committee,” another said.
“Mitch McConnell should be censured, primaried, voted out of office, and ostracized from the Republican Party. There is no place for deep state RINOs in President Trump’s GOP,” Brigitte Gabriel, the founder of ACT for America, said.
“Dear Kentucky, Mitch McConnell has proven to you that he’s out for himself. He couldn’t care less about you, he couldn’t care less about the direction of the country, and he couldn’t care less about draining the swamp. He’s a key part of the swamp. When his old, geriatric, wrinkled, turkey-necked, b***sack-looking a** is up for re-election, you know what to do. Make the rest of us proud. We love you,” conservative commentator Zeek Arkham said.
However, the vitriol was not reserved only for McConnell, as Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also faced backlash over their ‘no’ votes, creating a 50-50 tie and forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast his first tie-breaker.
“This is Susan Collins. Susan doesn’t represent the American people. Susan doesn’t realize that she works for us. She plans to seek reelection in 2026. She needs to be primaried, one X user said with a meme of Collins that referred to her as an “undocumented Democrat.”
“Susan Collins voted against Pete Hegseth. Let’s all work together to primary her and get her out of office!” Young also said.
“I totally understand why Susan Collins, who represents a blue state, Maine, might not be able to support every Trump agenda item in the Senate. But Lisa Murkowski needs to go in Alaska. Trump won Alaska by 13 points. Murkowski should support him on everything. Period,” Outkick.com founder Clay Travis said.
Trump, meanwhile, voiced confidence in Hegseth after his rocky confirmation when he was approached by reporters in California.
“I’m honored to have Pete. I think Pete’s gonna be a great Secretary of Defense and we’re honored to have him,” Trump said as he prepared to board Air Force One in Los Angeles following a whirlwind day where he visited storm-ravaged North Carolina and saw the devastation left behind by wildfires in the country’s second-largest city.
A reporter asked Trump what he thought about McConnell’s “no” vote, but he said he didn’t know how McConnell had voted until just then. “Winning is what matters, right?” he said.
