President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, and military veteran, would be his defense secretary choice. While announcing the appointment, Trump said of Hegseth: “He is tough, smart, and a true believer in America First. And he will always, always work to make our country’s defense as strong as possible.”
“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 as he expressed his faith in Hegseth’s commitment to national security.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, welcomed the move. Hegseth is “a great choice,” he said as he reminded that Hegseth is a “three-striper who has spent decades focused on security.” He said he looked forward to seeing what Hegseth could do in overseeing much-needed reforms for the Department of Defense.
Not all of it was good. Representative Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat and the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he was surprised by the nomination. Smith characterized himself as not knowing much about Hegseth’s experience in Department of Defense policy, saying the choice “concerns” him based on Hegseth’s lack of experience in defense policy. “The Pentagon is the largest bureaucracy in the world. It’s a hard thing to run,” Smith said, questioning whether Hegseth is ready for the job.
In recent comments, Hegseth denounced what he called “woke” military policies, suggesting he would push to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. His positions have praised and criticized those in the defense establishment.
Tied to the Hegseth nomination is a line of much-publicized appointments for Trump’s next administration – John Ratcliffe as CIA director, and Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, amongst others. All of Trump’s nominations would define key policies as he looks to implement his agenda.
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