WASHINGTON >> The Senate narrowly confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary today after he survived a bruising struggle with Democrats who decried the Trump nominee as unqualified and unfit to oversee the country’s 1.3 million active duty troops and the Pentagon’s nearly $850 billion budget.

Vice President JD Vance had to cast a tiebreaking vote to confirm Hegseth, after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition. The final vote, 51-50, was the smallest margin for a defense secretary’s confirmation since the position was created in 1947, according to Senate records.

Hegseth, a military veteran and a former Fox News host, has vowed to bring his self-described “warrior” ethos to the Defense Department, which he says has been made weak by “woke” generals and diversity programs.

But his selection by President Donald Trump and the confirmation process were complicated by a claim of sexual assault and accusations of abusive behavior, public drunkenness and fiscal mismanagement of two nonprofit veterans groups.

In a sworn statement submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, a former sister-in-law of Hegseth’s described him as frequently intoxicated and “abusive” toward his second wife. Hegseth, 44, has denied the account, along with other allegations that have dogged his nomination.

And Thursday, the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shared written answers to questions she put to Hegseth, in which he disclosed that he paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017.

He has said that encounter was consensual and he was never charged with a crime.

A handful of Republicans had said privately that the new allegations in the affidavit from Danielle Diettrich Hegseth, the former wife of Hegseth’s brother, were concerning. But on Friday, all but three — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — voted to confirm him.

“Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests,” McConnell said in a statement explaining his vote. “Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test.”

A fourth Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had pledged to conduct “due diligence” on the allegations surrounding Hegseth and whose vote Democrats had hoped to win over, voted in favor of his confirmation.

“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” he said in a statement explaining his choice. He added that he would “look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”

Nearly all recent defense secretaries have sailed through their final votes. President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, was confirmed on a 93-2 vote. The Senate voted 98-1 to confirm Jim Mattis, Trump’s first Pentagon chief, and 90-8 for his successor, Mark Esper.

There have been exceptions. Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator, won a narrow victory in 2013 despite opposition from 41 members of his own party over his skeptical views on the Iraq War. John Tower, the nominee of President George H.W. Bush, was defeated in a 53-47 vote in 1989 amid allegations of alcohol abuse and womanizing.

Hegseth had similar allegations to contend with, but that was a different time and a different Senate.

Hagel never really recovered from his Senate bruising and resigned under pressure two years into his term. Mattis resigned after two years in a rebuke of Trump’s worldviews and treatment of allies, and Esper was fired by Trump via a social media post after 15 months on the job.

Trump briefly considered dropping Hegseth amid resistance from senators in both parties. But Trump dug in. During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth called the allegations against him “anonymous smears.”

Samantha Hegseth, Hegseth’s second wife, has said publicly that he never physically abused her. But a Trump transition official informed the leaders of the Armed Services Committee last week that she had told the FBI during a background interview that Hegseth drank to excess and continues to do so, according to a person with knowledge of the findings.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the armed services panel, who was briefed on the findings, said reporters’ characterizations of the findings were “true and accurate.” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the panel’s chair, who was also briefed, called those characterizations “starkly and factually inaccurate.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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