Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins say they cannot support nominee, raising fresh doubts about confirmation chances

Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced that they would oppose the nomination of Pete Hegseth to become the next US secretary of defense, making them the first two Republican lawmakers to publicly reject one of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks and raising fresh doubts about the controversial nominee’s chances of confirmation.

Murkowski indicated her opposition to Hegseth in a statement shared on social media on Thursday, in which she criticized the Fox News host and army veteran as lacking the experience and character needed to lead the Pentagon.

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have come out in opposition to the former Fox host running the Pentagon

• Key Republican senators to vote against Hegseth for US defense secretary

Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, defended on Thursday what he described as an “innocent” hand salute made by US billionaire Elon Musk this week, as he criticised “woke ideology” in a fiery speech to the World Economic Forum.

Musk ignited controversy with two fascist-style salutes during Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, with critics accusing him of giving the Nazi salute.