Readers criticize the vote on the defense secretary nomination. Also: President Trump and tariffs; silencing health officials; firing of inspectors general; longevity.

Republican lawmakers congratulated Pete Hegseth after he was narrowly confirmed as defense secretary on Friday, with GOP senators saying they were proud to vote for him.

Senators voted 51-49 to advance Hegseth's defense secretary bid, which has been mired in several controversies. Two Republicans oppose him.

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.

The vote came amid concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and abusive behavior toward women.

The vote came amid concerns about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and abusive behavior toward women.

President Donald Trump's second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his Republican administration.

President Donald Trump notched two victories on Thursday as he pushed to get his top officials in place. He also faced new legal challenges.

One of Trump’s picks is currently an evangelical pastor: Southern Baptist Scott Turner, an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, was tapped to be Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency is John Ratcliffe, who formerly served as Director of National Intelligence in Trump’s first term. His confirmation hearing took place last week, during which he repeatedly said he would not hire or fire employees based on their political views.

Some of his choices so far have been controversial, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary ... Trump picked former NFL player Turner to address the nation’s housing needs.