The Republicans’ Mod Squad stands alone against Pete Hegseth’s confirmation

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as Defense Secretary appears on track for a narrow passage in the Senate, with all Democrats in opposition – and two Republicans joining them. “Although he has recently revised his statements on women in combat since being nominated, I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join. That was evident enough in 2017, when they joined John McCain in halting the GOP’s plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, dealing a massive blow to Trump’s first-term agenda that would go unmatched for four years, when Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema played the same spoiler role for Joe Biden’s presidency. With political analysts increasingly leaning towards the idea that Democrats will retake at least one chamber of Congress in the 2026 midterms, it comes down to this: how effective can Collins and Murkowski be over the next two years in curbing Trump’s agenda?