The 6 senators who could be key to Hegseth's Pentagon confirmation

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, is facing a tight Senate confirmation as questions continue to swirl around his suitability for the job. 

The Army veteran and former Fox News host will need to alleviate concerns around allegations of sexual assault, graphic details of which emerged in a police report released Wednesday. His untested status in running a major agency is also under scrutiny.  

Though no GOP senator has yet to openly oppose him, several have given lackluster responses to Trump’s pick — with only four Republicans needed to side with Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s nomination to tank his chances. 

What’s more, this week’s failed nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be U.S. attorney general has shown that even with a GOP majority in both chamber’s next year, the incoming Trump administration may not get everything it wants without opposition when it comes to controversial Cabinet picks.

Here are the six Republican senators that could be key to his confirmation:

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst

A Senate Armed Services Committee member, Ernst has appeared to take issue with the sexual assault allegations against Hegseth, which she says require “discussion.”

“Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted, so we’ll have that discussion,” Ernst, a National Guard and Army Reserve veteran, told Politico.

Ernst — who has publicly shared that a boyfriend had sexually assaulted her while she was a student at Iowa State University, as well as the revelation that she was sexually harassed in the military — has been vocal in her criticism over how the military handles sexual assault among service members.

She also was the lone Republican to vote against then-Gen. John Hyten for Joint Chiefs vice chair after allegations of sexual assault emerged during his confirmation.

In addition, she wants Hegseth to explain his comments that women should not serve in combat roles.

“Even a staff member of mine, she is an infantry officer . . . she is a tough woman, so he is going to have to explain it,” Ernst told reporters last week.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Murkowski, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans left in the Senate, most frequently bucked Trump in his first term and said she didn’t vote for him in 2016, 2020 or 2024.

She also was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

And Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she’s “going to do what everybody should do on all of these [nominations] is, let’s see what the incoming brings.”

What’s more, Murkowski is reportedly one of the four senators that Matt Gaetz could not get on board for his nomination as attorney general— with the former congressman on Thursday pulling his name from consideration. Her rejection of Gaetz could foreshadow how she’ll vote when it’s Hegseth’s turn to be grilled.

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer

Also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Cramer has been the most vocally negative GOP lawmaker over the choice of Hegseth related to his sexual assault allegation.

“It’s a pretty big problem, given that we have, you know, we have a sexual assault problem in our military,” he told reporters Thursday.

But he would not say if the new details of the allegation, released in the 22-page police report, would affect his vote.

“You know, this is why you have background checks. This is why you have hearings. This is why you have to go through the scrutiny. I’m not going to prejudge him, but yeah, it’s a pretty concerning accusation,” Cramer said.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

Collins, who along with fellow moderate Murkowski has been a thorn in Trump’s side, has not publicly criticized Hegseth but instead urged for the Senate confirmation process to play out. 

“Clearly we’re going to have to have a full background check and Senate committee investigation and public hearings, which is standard,” Collins said this week when asked about the allegation against Hegseth.

But in a bellwether for how she might lean as the former Fox News commentator makes it through the nomination process, Collins was among the GOP senators that opposed Gaetz’s nomination, ultimately sinking his chances.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell

The current Senate Minority Leader, McConnell is being closely watched for how he’ll vote for Trump’s more contentious Cabinet nominees, including Hegseth. 

The soon-to-be 83-year-old, now the longest-serving Senate GOP leader in history, has often clashed with Trump as the two differ on their defense and foreign policy outlooks. McConnell believes in U.S. strength abroad and international alliances, while Trump favors a populist and isolationist stance.

What’s more, McConnell has said he will focus on foreign policy and defense in his final two years, announcing Thursday that he’ll chair the Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee next year. With that new role in mind, he will likely be extra critical of Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department.

And while it's unclear whether he will seek reelection in 2026, not running for another six years gives him room to make decisions without the threat of a midterm election hanging over his head. 

The Kentucky Republican so far has mostly stayed quiet on Trump’s Cabinet picks, only asserting that the Senate must do its due diligence.  

“Each of these nominees needs to come before the Senate and go through the process and be vetted,” McConnell said Wednesday at the American Enterprise Institute’s annual gala.

Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis

A wildcard in the process, Curtis is a former Democrat who has not commented on Hegseth’s pending nomination but has made it clear that the Senate, not the incoming administration, should have the control in confirming or rejecting Trump’s cabinet nominees.

Curtis, who also is reportedly one of the four senators that opposed Gaetz’s nomination, is against Trump’s idea to bypass Senate confirmation for his nominees and instead use a recess appointment to quickly install them.

“Senator-elect Curtis believes that every president is afforded a degree of deference to select his team and make nominations,” Corey Norman, Curtis’s chief of staff, said in a statement to KSL TV Thursday. “He also firmly believes in and is committed to the Senate’s critical role to confirm or reject nominations based on information and insight from confirmation hearings.”