The Senate voted Thursday to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as secretary of defense, amid sweeping changes to military policies such as a potential ban on transgender troops and the end of all diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The former Army National Guardsmen and Fox News host will face a second vote Friday, but he seems poised to lead the Department of Defense with backing from all but two GOP senators.

Republicans have emphasized their belief that Hegseth can reinvigorate the DOD to face threats like China and Russia, while some veterans groups expressed concern he is not qualified to lead such a large organization. He will have sweeping policy power, but an Air Force Academy graduation and national security expert pointed out there are legal limits on it.

Among his supporters are Colorado Springs’ newly elected Congressman, Jeff Crank.

“Our nation will be in safe hands with him as secretary of defense. President Trump made a great pick, and I urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly confirm him,” Crank said in a statement.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R- Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Hegseth an unconventional pick in a statement, but supported him.

“Pete Hegseth has the determination and the tools to achieve real change,” Wicker said. “He will inject a new warrior ethos into the Pentagon, a spirit that can cascade from the top down.”

Some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders have already set the stage for some of that change by rescinding a previous order allowing transgender troops to serve openly and placing all federal employees focused on diversity equity and inclusion efforts on leave.

The issue of women in combat roles has also risen to the forefront with Hegseth as the nominee because he has been critical of that in the past. During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth said he planned to focus on ensuring all troops could meet the same high standards for their roles.

The military already expects women to meet gender-neutral standards for particular occupations, such as qualifying as an Army Ranger, explained National Security law expert and Professor Rachel VanLandingham. The Air Force Academy graduate works at the Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

The annual physical fitness standards are different for men and women, but those must be met by all service members and by every branch. They also cover every occupation such as those in food service jobs and working in military courts, she said.

“(Hegseth) can, and he probably will, ask for a review of what the current standards are for each occupation. But those have been the subject of a vast amount of scrutiny … since the Combat Exclusionary Policy really was finally dismantled,” VanLandingham said.

The DOD fully allowed women into combat roles in 2013 because it was facing lawsuits arguing women deserved equal protection under the law, and the military couldn’t win those claims, she said.

While a secretary of defense could close combat roles to women, it would be hard for the DOD to win in court if such a decision was challenged because women are already serving in those roles.

The military is also reliant on thousands of women who are currently serving during a tough recruitment environment, VanLandingham said.

“Women comprise almost a fifth of the active duty force. We need women there. We need qualified women,” she said.

Still female and LGBTQ+ service members and veterans are fearful of the culture Hegseth could promote that would make discrimination and harassment acceptable, said Jackii Wang, a senior legislative analyst for the National Women’s Law Center.

“It’s really scary that he would have the pen,” she said, because he has sweeping power to issue policy.

Wang said she has heard from service members who are looking to leave, including those in roles with specialized training, which hurts military readiness to respond to threats.

She also said she finds it “wild” that the mission of diversity and inclusion would be considered antithetical to the mission of DOD, particularly at a time when it is struggling with recruitment and it should be working to make sure people from all backgrounds feel comfortable signing up.

“If you dismantle those offices where they can find refuge or resources, that’s just so disrespectful,” Wang said.

VanLandingham noted some DEI functions, such as somewhat performative PowerPoint trainings, could likely go away without legal repercussions, but some actions are required by the law to address known problems.

For example, the DOD is required to report the race of those facing court-martial because Black service members face criminal cases at higher rates while they do not commit a higher rate of crime.

VanLandingham also doesn’t expect Hegseth to eliminate the offices working to prevent sexual assault and harassment because those are problems within the department. Hegseth also committed to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, that he would continue working on the sexual assault problem as part of securing her vote.

Hegseth’s tattoos, including a Jerusalem Cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult” (God wills it) were also been the subject of debate during his confirmation hearing.

When questioned about his Jerusalem Cross tattoo and extremism in the military, he said he didn’t see either as problematic.

“Things like focusing on extremism, Senator, have created a climate inside our ranks that feel political, when it has not ever been political. Those are the types of things that are going to change,” Hegseth said during the hearing.

VanLandingham said the extremist groups are those that want to deny others their rights, overthrow the government or advocate for discrimination.

While being a passive member of an extremist group is not prohibiting by the military, participating in an outward way is prohibited under the military’s broad rules to uphold good order and discipline, she said.

However, VanLandingham said that those rules may not be upheld if commanders feel undercut by the secretary.

Joanna Sweatt, a Marine Corps veteran and the national organizing director of Common Defense, a progressive veterans group, said the military’s zero-tolerance for extremism must continue.

“By overlooking or dismissing (extremism), we risk emboldening bad actors to take deplorable actions both within the U.S. and abroad,” she said.

Sweatt noted that the military has come a long way since 1997 she was forced to choose between giving her daughter up for adoption or getting married and asking her husband to sign a permission slip so she could join.

Since then, the military also started to allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to serve openly. But Sweatt fears the military might go back to targeting and removing members of that community.

Sweatt encouraged friends and family members of service members to be educated on changes and advocate for change because service members cannot make political statements. But they can stand up for themselves.

“You have the right to tell your story, and you have the right to seek representation,” she said.