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Trump commended Pete Hegseth’s combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan and called him a true believer in ‘America First’.
Pete Hegseth has fought the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been a Fox News host for eight years. (AP)
Amid a flurry of cabinet appointments, US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defence.
“I am honoured to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense. 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. 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.
Hegseth, a graduate of Princeton University, is an Army combat veteran who fought in the wars in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He has been a host at Fox News for eight years.
Hegseth, a graduate of Princeton University, is an Army combat veteran who fought in the wars as a former infantry captain in the Army National Guard in
Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Hegseth also has a graduate degree from Harvard University.
Who Is Pete Hegseth?
Hegseth started with Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and was named the co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend” in 2017. He also served as CEO for veterans advocacy organisation Concerned Veterans for America. “We are extremely proud of his work at FOX News Media and wish him the best of luck in Washington,” Fox News said.
He has emerged as a dedicated supporter of Trump and embraced his “America First” agenda of withdrawing US troops from abroad and defending combat veterans accused of war crimes, according to The New York Times. His role will now be elevated from a television host to a crucial cabinet member responsible for leading the Pentagon and 1.3 million American troops.
Trump also mentioned Hegseth’s best-seller book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” where he criticised the “elite” in the armed forces after he was designated an “extremist” by an Army “that didn’t want him anymore”. Trump said the book “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence.”
While Hegseth has articulated only limited policy positions in the past, he has railed against NATO allies for being weak and said that China is on the verge of dominating its neighbours. Trump told Fox News in June he would fire generals he described as “woke,” a term for those focused on racial and social justice but which is used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies.
A Surprising Move By Trump
The decision to pick Hegseth for Defence Secretary is surprising given the litany of global crises America currently faces and the Fox News host having no political or administrative experience. He acted as an informal adviser to Trump for years and was considered for a number of positions in his first administration, but was ultimately passed over.
Hegseth’s name was also not among those considered as likely picks for Trump’s defence secretary among Pentagon officials. “Everyone is simply shocked,” a defence official told CNN. However, Trump is likely to have a loyalist serving in the department which has produced officials critical of his defence policies.
The President-elect clashed with James Mattis. his first defence secretary who resigned in protest after Trump announced an immediate withdrawal of US forces from Syria. Mark Esper, Trump’s other defence secretary, had openly warned about the threat of another Trump administration in the weeks leading up to the election.
Trump has suggested his national security team would be tasked with reassessing the United States’ posture toward Ukraine and Russia, China, Iran, and the simmering conflict in the Middle East. Last month, Trump said the “biggest mistake” of his previous presidency was picking “bad, disloyal people”.
This year, Trump has relied on close aides and allies to fill in key positions in his second cabinet. He picked ex-US spy John Ratcliffe as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Mike Waltz as the National Security Adviser and Bill McGinley as White House counsel.
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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)