President-elect Donald Trump has named Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Nov. 12.
If confirmed by Congress, Hegseth will replace current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
"Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country," Trump wrote on social media.
"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."
Although lacking previous military leadership experience, Hegseth, 44, previously served as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard doing multiple tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hegseth is the former head of the conservative organization Concerned Veterans for America and in June 2024 released a book titled "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free."
Hegseth also unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota in 2012.
Up until Nov. 12, Hegseth served as a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, a morning news and talk show that Trump would call into regularly. Hegseth has appeared as a regular contributor to the Fox News Channel, a U.S. network with a strong conservative bent.
Trump's incoming national security and foreign policy team is gaining shape. The president-elect recently announced he would pick Congressman Mike Waltz as his national security advisor and is expected to select Florida Senator Marco Rubio to lead the State Department.
John Ratcliffe, who served as the director of national intelligence in the later months of Trump's first presidency, has been tapped for the CIA director in what observers called a more "traditional pick."
Hegseth's controversial past comments on Ukraine and NATO
Hegseth is a staunch supporter of President-elect Donald Trump and has defended Trump's controversial past comments on the war in Ukraine, as well as the U.S.'s participation in NATO.
After Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Trump described Russian President Vladimir Putin as "savvy" and a "genius."
Hegseth defended Trump's comments, saying that Trump was solely trying to "troll" the media amid the coverage of the war.
"Vladimir Putin lives rent-free in the minds of our media, of the American media," Hegseth said at the time.
"No organism, no entity has done more to spread Russian propaganda and to prop up the strawman that is Vladimir Putin than our very own media. And Donald Trump was happy to troll them on it, as he continues to do to this moment."
Hegseth has also stirred controversy over his own comments on Ukraine, suggesting that Russia's full-scale invasion "pales in comparison" to "wokeness" — a conservative pejorative term for left-wing ideology in the U.S.
Hegseth amplified the views of attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference while covering the event for Fox News. According to Hegseth, attendees reportedly said that while "what is happening in Ukraine is important," it does not measure up to "the wokeness I see in my culture."
Hegseth has also previously shared views that align with Trump's skepticism toward mutual defense in the NATO military alliance.
"Why should America, the European 'emergency contact number' for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?" Hegseth wrote in his book.
Trump unsettled international allies earlier this year when he said he would allow Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO member countries failing to meet defense spending criteria. Trump later walked backed the comments, insisting the U.S. will remain in NATO and come to the aid of a bloc member if they are attacked so long as other countries "play fair."
Hegseth shared strikingly similar views on the United States' outsized role in the NATO alliance in his 2021 book, writing "(European countries) just yell about the rules while gutting their militaries and yelling at America for help."
Defense officials, experts express 'shock' at appointment
Following Trump's surprise announcement, various U.S. defense officials and industry experts expressed alarm at the appointment of a media personality to the position of defense secretary.
Hegseth's nomination comes as a shock to Pentagon officials who did not believe he was in contention, CNN reported.
"Everyone is simply shocked," one U.S. official told CNN on the condition of anonymity.
Another official from the first Trump administration also said they were "shocked" by the pick, adding that there would likely be an effort to "take him down," referring to Hegseth's controversial past statements.
When asked by CNN, Republican senators — who will have to confirm the appointment in an eventual vote — also expressed surprise at the media personality's appointment.
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski responded with "wow," while North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis reacted with a one-word response: "Interesting."
In separate comments to Politico, defense industry experts also expressed shock at the appointment.
"Who the f--- is this guy?" said one defense industry lobbyist who was granted anonymity to speak his mind.
The lobbyist questioned the choice, adding that they had hoped Trump would appoint "someone who actually has an extensive background in defense. That would be a good start."
Ukrainian officials have not yet provided comments on Hegseth's appointment. Ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously pledged to work with whatever U.S. administration was in power.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
