A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

Pete Hegseth’s Senate confirmation vote is scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday. In the hours beforehand, it remained unclear if he has enough Republican support.

Pete Hegseth is closer to Senate confirmation as Trump's Defense secretary despite controversy and allegations of serious impropriety.