Donald Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, to take on the key role of Secretary of Defense.
Mr Hegseth has been a supporter of the president-elect since 2016, when he initially supported Marco Rubio and then Ted Cruz.
He has positioned himself firmly on the right, with a staunch ‘anti-woke’ agenda and has lobbied for the pardoning of service members charged with war crimes.
Trump’s decision to pick Mr Hegseth, 44, is reported to have set off alarm bells at the Pentagon and the broader defence world given he is largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage.
Mr Hegseth, a father of seven, is well-known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Once on the show in 2015 he accidentally hit a West Point drummer with an axe during a live TV segment on axe throwing. The drummer only suffered minor injuries.
He previously served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, something Republican lawmakers have championed since his name began circling as a possible choice to head up the Pentagon.
Mr Hegseth could bring sweeping changes to the US military. He is stridently opposed to “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion. He’s also questioned the role of women in combat and advocated pardoning service members charged with war crimes.
In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump encouraged his supporters to buy Mr Hegseth’s book after vowing that if he won: “The woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you.”
A staunch conservative who embraces Trump’s “America First” policies, the 44-year-old Hegseth has pushed for making the military more lethal. During an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, he said allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.
“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse,” Hegseth said.
And while he said diversity in the military is a strength, he said it was because minority and white men “can perform similarly” but the same isn’t true for women.
While Trump lauded Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” others were quick to point to the TV personality’s lack of experience, with some suggesting he could be Pentagon chief in name only as the Trump White House runs the department.
here’s pete hegseth, fox news host and trump’s pick for secretary of defense, nearly killing a drummer with an axe on live TV pic.twitter.com/b1RHmVz6vZ https://t.co/qkpekjqnIQ
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) November 13, 2024
“There is reason for concern that this is not a person who is a serious enough policymaker, serious enough policy implementer, to do a successful job,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Mr Hegseth’s lack of senior national security experience makes it more difficult to get Senate confirmation.
“I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defense and picked one who would be loyal to him,” Mr Cancian said.
Military officials said the choice came out of the blue. A senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said Hegseth’s selection is raising concerns about whether he has the practical experience to manage a large department with an enormous budget.
The Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide.
Even some Republicans in the Senate — who would vote on his nomination — have had a subdued response.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis called the choice “interesting,” and Indiana Sen. Todd Young, who served in the Marine Corps, said, “I don’t know much about his background or his vision, so I look forward to learning more.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said he’s not surprised that Trump chose Mr Hegseth because Trump is “close to him and likes him and trusts him.”
“The guy’s obviously tremendously capable, a great communicator,” Mr Hoeven said. “I look forward to getting to know him better.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Hegseth brings a lot to the table and will be “reform-minded in the areas that need reform.”
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in a statement. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
