The Senate on Thursday confirmed Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The chamber voted 51-49 to approve Mulvaney. He needed a simple majority to be confirmed.
With a 52-seat majority, Republicans had little room for error to confirm Mulvaney after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced he would vote against him.
The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman on Wednesday stressed that his opposition wasn't personal, but he accused Mulvaney of working to "torpedo" the Senate's efforts to increase defense spending.
"Voting in favor of Congressman Mulvaney’s nomination would be asking Secretary Mattis to spend less time fighting our enemies overseas and more time fighting inside-the-beltway budget battles with an OMB director," McCain said from the Senate floor. Read more at The Hill