Pete Hegseth, 44, has built a strong relationship with Trump, who reportedly also considered him for a position in his first administration.
In selecting Pete Hegseth, a Fox News Channel host, to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen a military veteran and well-known conservative media figure with a substantial following.
Hegseth, aged 44, has built a strong relationship with Trump, who reportedly also considered him for a position in his first administration. Hegseth has encouraged Trump to release service members facing accusations of war crimes.
As a Fox News personality and author, Hegseth co-hosts “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a network contributor for ten years. He became friends with Trump through the president-elect’s frequent appearances on the show. A Fox News spokesperson praised Hegseth’s knowledge of military affairs, noting that his insights and analysis, especially about the military, resonated significantly with viewers.
Hegseth has authored several books, including “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” which he published under the network’s imprint. Trump acknowledged the book’s success, pointing out that it spent nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at number one.
As a military veteran, Hegseth has served overseas despite having limited senior military or national security experience. After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, he was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, deploying to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. Hegseth previously led the Koch-backed group Concerned Veterans for America and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota in 2012. His Fox News bio states that he earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
When Trump assembled his first Cabinet after the 2016 election, he reportedly considered Hegseth for the Department of Veterans Affairs and again considered him after criticism of Secretary David Shulkin prior to his 2018 departure.
Hegseth has defended service members accused of war crimes, advocating in 2019 for Trump to pardon U.S. troops accused of such crimes. He promoted the cases on his show and social media, interviewing family members on Fox News and suggesting that pardons from Trump would be “amazing.” His private lobbying efforts were also publicly noted, as he used hashtags with the names of the accused. Trump subsequently pardoned a former Army commando set to be tried for killing a suspected Afghan bomb-maker and a former Army lieutenant convicted of ordering his men to fire on three Afghans, killing two. Trump also promoted a Navy SEAL convicted of posing with the body of an ISIS captive.
Hegseth would assume the role during various global crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war, Iranian proxy attacks in the Middle East, efforts for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and rising concerns about Russia’s alliance with North Korea.
The Pentagon is always a significant role, but during Trump’s first term, it was especially tumultuous, with five individuals holding the position in four years. Trump’s interactions with military and civilian leaders were marked by tension, confusion, and frustration, as they navigated sudden policy shifts often communicated via unexpected tweets and statements. Many generals from Trump’s first administration later criticized him as unsuitable for office, to which he responded with condemnation.
Regarding his stance on China, Hegseth reportedly claimed that China is constructing a military aimed specifically at defeating the United States, stating that the U.S. is “always a decade behind and fighting the last war,”. His nomination aligns him with other hawkish figures on China, such as National Security Adviser nominee Mike Waltz.
Read More: Pete Hegseth: Army Veteran And Fox News Host Picked By Trump To Serve As Secretary Of Defense
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