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

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

Most of President Donald Trump's successful Cabinet nominees so far — including, as of Monday evening, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — were confirmed by comfortable margins. 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.

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,

Thom Tillis reportedly assured Hegseth’s former sister-in-law that her statement would turn the tide against him.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis has a longstanding reputation for giving hints he’ll do the right thing on important issues and then, when the chips are down, chickening out and caving into pressure from the far right.

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.

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