Donald Trump will nominate Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, the latest in a flurry of announcements about the shape of the incoming administration.
“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,” the president-elect said in a statement on Tuesday. “With Pere at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
Hegseth, 44, is a former Bear Stearns banker who later served tours with the Army National Guard in Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as led veterans-focused advocacy organizations. He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and co-hosts “Fox & Friends.”
During his time at the network, Hegseth lobbied Trump to support U.S. soldiers and contractors accused of war crimes, including Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher and a group of Blackwater personnel accused of massacring civilians in Baghdad.
On air, Hegseth has complained the U.S. is spending too much supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia and has been an outspoken advocate for Israel. He’s suggested both Israel’s founding as a nation-state and the U.S. revolution against Great Britain represent “the story of God’s chosen people.”
The announcement of Hegseth, who will need Senate confirmation, was met with a mix of approval, criticism, and confusion.
His colleagues at Fox praised the announcement.
“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,” FOX News Media said in a statement to The Independent. “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 Media and wish him the best of luck in Washington.”
Others were more skeptical.
“Trump picking Pete Hegseth is the most hilariously predictably stupid thing,” former Republican congressman and Trump critic Adam Kinzinger wrote on X.
Some Senate Republicans, meanwhile, were surprised, with Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana responding, “Who?” to NBC News when told about the decision.
Hegseth has “an excellent background as a junior officer but does not have the senior national security experience that secretaries need,” Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Associated Press. “I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defense and picked one who would be loyal to him.”
Trump frequently clashed with his previous Defense Secretaries. James Mattis resigned in 2018, saying he and the president had diverging views on “treating our allies with respect” and being “clear-eyed” about U.S. enemies, while Trump fired Mark Esper in 2020 over his refusal to use active-duty troops on Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020.
Trump has filled out other parts of his defense and intelligence cabinet wishlist, selecting former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA and Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
