President-elect Donald Trump stunned political observers Tuesday night by nominating Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense.
“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country,” Trump, 78, said in a statement. “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
The choice of Hegseth is an unorthodox pick from a field of contenders that included Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who earned favor in military circles for working closely with the Pentagon on defense legislation; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.); and Democrat-turned-Republican former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, an Army National Guard member like Hegseth.
Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been with the cable news giant since 2014, most recently as a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“Pete Hegseth has been an exceptional host on FOX & Friends and FOX Nation and a best-selling author for FOX News Books for nearly a decade,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. “His insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success that it is today. We are extremely proud of his work at FOX News and wish him the best of luck in Washington.”
The 44-year-old had been considered for the position of Veterans Affairs secretary following Trump’s election in 2016, but that job ultimately went to David Shulkin.
In 2003, prior to joining the military, Hegseth graduated from Princeton University. Ten years later, he received a master of public policy degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
A Minnesota native, Hegeseth has received two Bronze Stars for his service overseas as well as two Army Commendation Medals.
Hegseth still serves in the Minnesota Army National Guard’s Individual Ready Reserve, according to multiple outlets.
Congressional rules require nominees to have been out of uniform for at least seven years to serve as the secretary of defense, so it appears that Hegseth will require a congressional waiver before being confirmed.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Trump’s former Pentagon chief James Mattis were both less than seven years removed from active-duty service when they were nominated and both received congressional waivers.
Hegseth has also served as the head of Concerned Veterans for America – a conservative nonprofit advocacy group – and is the author of “The War on Warriors,” a top-selling book in which the Trump nominee blames the “woke military” for the recruiting crisis facing the nation’s armed services.
“For the past three years — after President Barack Obama poured the social justice foundation — the Pentagon, across all branches, has embraced the social justice messages of gender equity, racial diversity, climate stupidity, and the LGBTQA+ alphabet soup in their recruiting pushes,” Hegseth writes in “The War on Warriors,” released in June.
“Only one problem: There just aren’t enough lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne,” he adds. “Not only do the lesbians not join, but those very same ads turn off the young, patriotic, Christian men who have traditionally filled our ranks.”
Trump touted Hegseth’s book in his announcement.
“The book reveals the leftwing betrayal of our warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence,” the president-elect wrote.
On the campaign trail, Trump frequently railed against “woke generals.”
“On Day One, I will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our US armed forces,” Trump promised at an August rally. “We’re taking it out.”
In his first administration, Trump had five different men lead the Pentagon.
Mattis served as Trump’s first defense secretary, but resigned over policy differences related to US troops in Syria. Mattis was replaced on an acting basis in December 2018 by Patrick Shanahan, who later opted to not go through the confirmation process.
Richard Spencer briefly served as acting defense secretary until Mark Esper was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote in July 2019
Between Mattis and Esper, the Pentagon went a record-long seven months without a Senate-confirmed leader.
Trump fired Esper in November 2020 after the two butt heads over deploying troops to quell protests in Washington and renaming military bases named after Confederate leaders. He was replaced by Christopher C. Miller, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
