Trump will tour California wildfires and NC hurricane damage ahead of Pete Hegseth Senate vote

On By Littum

Trump told reporters today that he was “surprised” that Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins – both moderates and sometimes critics of Trump – planned to vote against former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Department of Defense .

“I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters.

The president also hinted that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has had a contentious relationship with Trump at times, could vote no in today’s highly anticipated vote.

“Obviously, Mitch is always a no, I think,” the president said, before asking reporters, “Is Mitch a no? What about Mitch?”

McConnell has not publicly revealed how he will vote on Hegseth’s nomination, but he and several other Republican senators who have expressed reservations about Hegseth — including Sens. Todd Young of Indiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia — voted in favor of a procedural motion to bring Hegseth’s proposal to a final vote.

Murkowski of Alaska and Collins of Maine voted against the procedural step.

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