Vice Chairman JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next U.S. defense secretary late Friday and might feel a little like Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.
Vance, an Ohio State alum, celebrated Hegseth’s confirmation with an anecdote referencing his alma mater’s recent 34-23 national championship victory over Notre Dame.
“As I learned with the Buckeyes just a week ago, when you win the championship, it doesn’t matter what the score was. We won the championship on this one. We have a great defensive secretary. We’re proud of him and he’s going to do a good job,” said Vance.
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Vance has been on a roll with sports analogies recently.
After former President Joe Biden falsely insisted that the Constitution had been amended to include the Equality Amendment as the 28th Amendment, Vance mocked that notion with a baseball comparison.
Vance responded to Biden’s statement in a post on X that joked that Biden should put the late disgraced MLB icon Pete Rose In the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka reflects on how Buckeyes bounced back from Michigan loss to win national championship
“Hey Joe, if we do fake s— on the way out, can you declare Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame?” Vance wrote in reference to an infamous baseball debate. Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader who died in September, was banned from Sports for Life for illegal gambling.
Vance, meanwhile, witnessed the Buckeyes’ first national title since 2014 on the same day he and President Donald Trump were inaugurated. Vance has been a proud, vocal Ohio State football fan throughout his political career as a former state senator.
Vance even joked about skipping Monday’s dedication to watch the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in Atlanta.
Usha Vance stood out from the crowd wearing a pink coat on Inauguration Day. (Chris Kleponis)
“Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the initiation so I can go to National Title Game, “ Vance joked in a social media post.
During the campaign, Vance revealed that he told Trump that his loyalty to the Buckeyes could affect Trump’s chances of winning the key battleground state of Michigan.
“When he first asked me to be a VP, I was like, ‘Well, you know, hopefully we don’t lose Michigan by like 900 votes because you’re going to regret it. “Because it’s probably just a thousand P— Ed-off Wolverine fans that wouldn’t vote for a Buckeye,” Vance said during an appearance on Outkicks “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.”
“But I think most Michiganders will be able to put aside sports rivalries and put the country first, which is what we all believe is the most important thing.”
The Democratic National Committee attempted to capitalize on Vance’s connection to Ohio State with a campaign strategy in Michigan in early September. The DNC flew a plane over a Michigan football game Sept. 7 with a banner that said, “JD Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025.”
However, the Trump-vance ticket easily ended up carrying Michigan.
Ohio State players celebrating their national title and JD Vance (Getty Images)
Hegseth, 44, a former Minnesota National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, secured the role to lead the Pentagon after weeks of intense political drama over his nomination and public scrutiny of his personal life.
The Senate was deadlocked 50-50 with three Republicans—Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – Participation of Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s confirmation.
The standoff forced Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote and secure his confirmation.
“This isn’t the first time the headline has read, ‘Junior Enlisted Marine Bails Out Junior Army Officer,'” Hegseth, a former Pakinomist host joked, referencing Vance’s former service in the US Marine Corps.
