N.C., is going all in on Kash Patel despite being a holdout on Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation came down to the wire.

But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth squeaked by 51 to 50, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the second-ever tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet secretary. Sen. Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote Friday night after telling Hegseth's former sister-in-law he would oppose the nomination,

The North Carolina senator provided pivotal 50th “yes” vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary.

The aggressive posture, inspired by Trump, meant going after not only Democrats, the media and Hegseth’s accusers — but also their own party.

The North Carolina Republican said he did his “due diligence” and deferred to the Senate Armed Services Committee endorsement.

Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote from the Senate on Friday night, in a tie broken by Vice President J.D. Vance, was helped by a North Carolina Republican senator and a one-on-one meeting between the two.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis told Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law that a sworn statement about his alleged alcohol abuse and abuse of his second wife could convince senators—himself included—to oppose Hegseth’s confirmation as secretary of defense,

Social media critics raked Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) over the coals after he, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, proved to be the deciding votes to confirm former Fox News weekend co-host Pete Hegseth to serve as President Donald Trump's secretary of Defense.

Pete Hegseth has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Pentagon. Democrats had assailed him as unfit for the job, and his confirmation came down to Vice President JD Vance serving as tiebreaker.

Vice President JD Vance was forced to step in after Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell broke ranks and voted against Hegseth.

Tillis previously expressed concerns about Kennedy, tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, over his history of vaccine skepticism.

Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, faced stiff criticism from Democrats and some Republicans—requiring a tie-breaking vote from JD Vance.