Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about Trump's new Secretary of Defense and the Senate.

Hexeth was confirmed as the new sect-def.

It took a tie-breaking vote from the Vice President for Hexeth to obtain the position.

There's a lot to be said about this whole situation.

Three Republican senators crossed the aisle to attempt to block his confirmation.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined Mitch McConnell in voting no.

McConnell released his statement saying, quote, Mr. Hexeth has failed as yet

to demonstrate that he will pass this test, but as he assumes office, the consequences of failure

are as high as they have ever been. This is a lot of reluctance from the Senate, not just from the three Republicans,

but from the Senate as a body. For historical context, in all of American history, there have only

been nine cabinet nominations rejected by the Senate. All but three were in the 1800s,

and there have now been two Thai votes. Both of those were Trump nominees. McConnell is certainly considering the gravity of the situation and the reality

that the Secretary of Defense has a lot of control over the most powerful military the world is ever known. When the stakes are

that high, any reluctance or doubt might be cause for a no vote. From a partisan like McConnell,

a vote like this is a signal that McConnell is going to be a thorn in the side of Trump for a while.

He signaled that he would be pushing back against Trump's isolationist foreign policy, but this is the first time we've

seen it in a vote. Now, here's the thing about this whole situation. The Republican Senate

now owns this completely.

Hegset may surprise everybody and be an incredibly successful sectaf.

But if he doesn't surprise everyone, every single person who voted to confirm bears the blame.

It was a tie vote.

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