Donald Trump nominated “Fox & Friends” weekend host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense on Tuesday.
“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,” Trump said of the National Guard Major in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
“Pete Hegseth has been an exceptional host on ‘FOX & Friends’ and ‘FOX Nation’ and a best-selling author for FOX News Books for nearly a decade,” a Fox News spokesperson told TheWrap. “His insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success that it is today. We are extremely proud of his work at FOX News Media and wish him the best of luck in Washington.”
Trump previously considered Hegseth for the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs during his first presidency.
Hegseth served as the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) from 2012-2015. During that time, he grew the organization into the “largest conservative Veterans advocacy organization in America and led the charge for real reform at the Department of Veterans Affairs.” He joined the organization after serving as the executive director of Vets For Freedom from 2007-2010.
In 2018, APM Reports noted that Hegseth’s time at CVA was marked by mild controversy after the organization hired his brother Philip and paid him $108,000. The job was Philip’s first after graduating from the University of St. Thomas, and he left the position three months after his brother.
The Fox News host’s military service includes tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a period of service at Guantanamo Bay.
Hegseth earned two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge for his military service. He is a 2003 graduate of Princeton and a 2013 graduate of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he studied Public Policy.
He launched a bid for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat in 2012, but ultimately dropped out of the race after he failed to become the party’s nominee. Hegseth joined Fox News two years later. Though he was initially a critic of Trump and an open supporter of Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, he shifted toward team Trump in 2016.
APM Reports also revealed Hegseth allegedly had two affairs in two marriages and “has worked years to cultivate himself as rock-ribbed, conservative volunteering for combat, advocating for veterans and speaking publicly and writing about family values.” Hegseth’s second wife filed for divorce a month before his child with another woman was born. He married his third wife in 2019.
