Even as handicappers adjudged Pete Hegseth ’s confirmation as secretary of Defense to be all but certain, not one but two Republican senators indicated a hard pass on the poorly qualified bad boy from Fox News.

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican, predicted that Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as Defense secretary Friday evening and that Democratic opposition would target Tulsi Gabbard next.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate is set to decide as soon as Friday night whether to confirm Forest Lake native Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, bringing an end to what has been a tumultuous path to confirmation which unearthed salacious details about his past along the way.

Pete Hegseth cleared a procedural hurdle Thursday for a final Senate vote to advance his confirmation to lead the Department of Defense, setting up a high-stakes showdown.

The Senate narrowly advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary on Thursday in a 51-49 vote, moving him one step closer to confirmation despite fierce objections from Senate Democrats and mounting unease among some Republicans.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said he was surprised that two senators have publicly said they'll vote against his nominee to lead the Defense Department.

The Senate is expected to make a final confirmation vote for Pete Hegseth's defense secretary appointment under the Trump administration on Friday.

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.

Moderte Sen. Susan Collins said she will not be backing Pete Hegseth for the role of secretary of defense under the Trump administration.

The payment is according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained.

Two Republican Senators, including Maine’s Susan Collins, voted against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary.