President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as secretary of defense.
Hegseth, who was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge, served as an infantry major in the Army National Guard and served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. Since retiring, he has worked on-air at Fox News for the last eight years and was an avid Trump backer during the president-elect’s first term.
“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down. Pete is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University.”
He previously led a veterans conservative advocacy group as well. His nomination caught several lawmakers off guard, though many conservatives expressed an openness to Hegseth.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told the Washington Examiner, “We’re looking forward to it. I want to get to know him better in that role. But yeah, the nominees so far I think have all been good.”
“Wow … I just said wow,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told reporters. “I’m just surprised. I’m not saying if that’s good, bad, or indifferent.”
“Read his bio,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) told the Washington Examiner. “Look, these guys are focused on lethality and peace through strength, and you know, going after our real adversaries. Read his bio, it’s going to be a good combo.”
Hegseth, like all of Trump’s Cabinet picks, will need a Senate majority to get confirmed, and the Republicans will have a small majority.
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Trump is expected to reshape the Pentagon during his second term. He has indicated he will go after the department’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts instituted under the Biden administration and would reverse the decision to rename military bases named after Confederate soldiers.
The president-elect is also coming back into power at a time of much more conflict than when he left. While the conflicts could end before the inauguration, Russia’s war in Ukraine is nearing the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, and Israel is still at war with Hamas, Hezbollah, and, effectively but indirectly, Iran.
David Sivak contributed to this report.
