Congress

Hegseth advances to final Senate vote despite misconduct allegations

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2025

Pete Hegseth came one step closer to leading the Pentagon on Thursday despite new allegations against him and last-minute Republican defections.

The Senate voted 51-49 to cut off debate on Hegseth’s nomination, setting up a final vote that could come as late as this weekend.

All Democrats opposed moving forward with his confirmation. Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine also came out in opposition to Hegseth.

Murkowski cited “significant concerns” with the former Fox News host, including a lack of experience, allegations of personal misconduct and comments opposing women in combat roles. Collins, who previously expressed concerns about the allegations against him, said Hegseth doesn’t “have the experience and perspective” for the job.

Hegseth’s GOP supporters have brushed aside allegations this week from his former sister-in-law as partisan attacks and say he has the votes to be confirmed.

He can lose one more GOP senator on the final vote and still be approved with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie — an increasingly likely scenario. Another Republican seen as on the fence, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, voted to advance Hegseth’s nomination.

Democrats are unlikely to let Republicans speed up the confirmation vote, forcing lawmakers to use all 30 hours of debate time required under Senate rules. That would likely push the vote to Friday evening.

Senate Democrats want more time to highlight the latest allegations that his ex-wife feared for her safety during their marriage. And they are using the accusations to argue Democrats haven’t been able to thoroughly vet the man who would lead the country’s largest federal agency.

“Why would we rush to put through a nomination for a position of this importance that is freighted with so much baggage and so much evidence of glaring character and judgment errors?” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in a floor speech. “Do we want to have egg on our face? Do we want to rush and have this blow up later?”

Hegseth’s bid has been dogged for months by allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement. But senators received an affidavit this week from his former sister-in-law alleging that he was abusive to his second wife and regularly abused alcohol.

BLN also reported that Samantha Hegseth, his ex-wife, gave a new statement to the FBI about his drinking after the latest allegations came out. The outlet said Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) were briefed on her statement.

Hegseth has denied all wrongdoing.

Republicans largely shrugged at the allegations because they came from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law and not a firsthand account from his ex-wife. Wicker, meanwhile, defended the background investigation process.

“I am ironclad in my assessment that the nominee, Mr. Hegseth, is prepared to be the next Secretary of Defense,” Wicker said in a statement. “The allegations unfairly impugning his character do not pass scrutiny.”

Congress

Jim Jordan says he will relinquish Judiciary gavel, pass on a return to Oversight

Published

27 minutes ago

September 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

DALLAS — Rep. Jim Jordan said Wednesday he plans to end his eight-year run leading Republicans on two of the House’s most prominent committees after this Congress, raising fresh questions about what comes next for the veteran Ohio lawmaker.

Jordan, 62, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention that he has no plans to seek a waiver of the GOP’s three-term limit on committee leaders to retain the top spot on the Judiciary Committee.

Nor, he said, would he seek to return to lead Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. He previously served as ranking member from 2019 to 2020, when he took the GOP reins at Judiciary, and has at least two terms of eligibility remaining there.

“No, I don’t plan to do that,” Jordan said. “There’s other people who are very interested in Oversight.”

Jordan could have requested a waiver from the House Republican Steering Committee, and several other sitting GOP chairs — including Agriculture’s G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and Armed Services’ Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) — are expected to do just that. He brushed off questions about why we would not join others in seeking to keep the coveted gavel overseeing the Justice Department, immigration law and other high-profile matters.

“I’m just not going to do it,” he said.

The decision is likely to stoke speculation about another potential leadership run for Jordan, who is seeking his 11th term this fall. He unsuccessfully sought the speakership after Kevin McCarthy’s 2023 ouster, and there has been open chatter in recent months that he is quietly setting the grounds to make another run at the top job.

After flatly denying plans to retain a committee gavel, Jordan was far less direct in addressing other questions about his future in the House.

“I’m focused on one thing, one thing only: winning,” he said. “If the left wins, where they want to take the country is very, very scary.”

Jordan, for instance, did not rule out running against Speaker Mike Johnson for the gavel if Republicans hold onto House majority this fall.

“As I said, I’m focused on winning. We got to win,” he said when asked if he could challenge Johnson, adding “that’s why I’ve been … in 15 different states, and so we just keep going to help our colleagues and candidates.”

Jordan only serves on the Judiciary and Oversight committees, and it is rare for veteran Republican members who are term-limited out of committee leadership posts to stick around as back-benchers in the House.

Jordan did not criticize his fellow chairs who are seeking waivers: “They want a waiver, that’s fine. It’s been granted in the past, and sometimes they get them, sometimes they don’t,” he said, noting it was “up to the conference and the steering committee.”

Asked if he would stay in Congress without a committee or conference leadership position, he noted he is running for reelection: “I’m going to go represent the people in the 4th District.”

Asked a final time what’s next for his decadeslong political career, Jordan chuckled and went through his plans for the day.

“I got like three more interviews,” Jordan said. “And then I’m going to go sit down in that suite, and we’ve got to have some popcorn and watch the speeches. I think that’s what’s next for me.”

Congress

Bobby Scott defends his track record amid fight to keep committee post

Published

2 hours ago

September 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Bobby Scott is defending his track record leading Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee in a new letter as he faces an internal challenge for the top job.

In a Dear Colleague letter dated Wednesday, the 79-year-old Virginian said he is running to keep the top spot on the committee, guaranteeing a showdown with fellow Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, a 53-year-old former teacher.

Scott has led the panel’s Democrats since 2015, including four years as chair during his party’s time in the majority from 2019 to 2023. He said in the latter that he looks forward to again holding the gavel of the Education and Labor Committee, as it is traditionally named under Democratic majorities.

“In this moment, we need a leader with a proven record of confronting and thwarting a dangerous President, a leader who will conduct rigorous oversight without fear or favor,” Scott said in the letter. “We also need a leader who will advance legislation grounded in evidence and data, restore and expand programs people need not only to survive but to thrive, and ensure we have a government that is truly accountable to the people. My track record speaks for itself.”

He made reference to one critique of his leadership — that he is a relatively low-profile presence inside the Democratic caucus: “While I have no qualms about sharing the spotlight with my colleagues, I want to be clear that my colleagues should not confuse my humility with an inability to deliver results.”

Blue Light News first reported Hayes’ interest in challenging Scott last week. She said in an interview that there needs to be a “push from the caucus” to counter President Donald Trump’s attempts to dismantle the Education Department.

“We are going to lift our heads up, and the Department of Education is going to be gone,” Hayes said. “I think that as a caucus and as a country, that should be a part of our priorities and a part of our agenda because it is incredibly important.”

Congress

Sanders to host AI briefing for senators

Published

4 hours ago

September 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a private briefing for senators next week with top artificial intelligence researchers, according to a letter to colleagues obtained by Blue Light News.

The meeting, slated for 4 p.m. on Sept. 16, comes as concerns grow on both sides of the aisle about safety warnings from top AI labs and researchers about the technology’s growing capabilities.

“Congress needs SERIOUS discussions about this issue,” Sanders wrote. “That is why I will be convening a private briefing with some of the leading experts in the world to discuss this recent incident and the extraordinary dangers that AI poses for humanity.”

Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the “godfather of AI,” is expected to brief the lawmakers alongside MIT professor and co-founder of the Future of Life Institute Max Tegmark and Ajeya Cotra, an independent investigator who helped probe helped probe OpenAI agents’ recent autonomous attack on the tech platform Hugging Face.

Sanders has positioned himself as a leading progressive voice on AI, calling last week for a pause in AI development until a vetting regime can be stood up and a complete ban on superintelligence, a type of AI that may exceed humans’ cognitive capabilities.

Axios first reported details of the briefing.