Nov. 12 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced his nomination of Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to head the Department of Defense.
At 44 years of age, Hegseth will be among the youngest to lead the Pentagon, and at a time of growing tensions with China and North Korea and wars waging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In a statement, Trump described the conservative pundit and ally as “tough, smart and a true believer in America first.”
His appointment is expected to take some by surprise as Hegseth is without military leadership experience.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington who is the top Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee lambasted the move, stating: “The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position and I question President-elect Trump’s choice of a television news host to take on this immensely important role.”
“I am concerned about his inexperience given the security challenges we face around the world,” Smith said in a statement, adding that if his nomination makes it to the Senate, he hopes the lawmakers give it “the utmost scrutiny before voting on confirmation.”
According to his website, Hegseth served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard with tours in Afghanistan, Iran and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has been awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantry Badge, and served as the chief executive officer of veterans advocacy group Concerned Veterans for American.
He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and is a co-host of the channel’s Fox & Friends. His last day at the network was on Sunday
In a statement, Fox said Hegseth’s insights and analysis “resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success it is today.”
“We are extremely proud of his work at Fox news and wish him the best of luck in Washington,” it said.
In his nomination statement, Trump praised Hegseth, a best-selling author, for his book The War on Warriors, stating it “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability and excellence.”
“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” he said.
The announcement comes after Trump’s two previous secretary of defenses from his first administration were out of jobs after disagreeing with him, and with Hegseth he is expected to find a political ally.
Trump’s first Defense secretary, James Mattis, resigned while subtly criticizing Trump over his bristly and at times combative relations with international partners, stating the United States cannot remain an indispensable nation in the free world or protect its interests “without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies.”
His second Pentagon head, Mark Esper, was fired in 2020 after repeated head-butting with the then-outgoing president. Ahead of this month’s election, Esper had warned about the threat of a second Trump administration.
Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, whom Trump nominated earlier Tuesday to serve as his national security advisor, praised the president-elect’s choice of Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, calling him a friend.
“The Pentagon is in need of real reform, and they’re getting a leader who has the grit to make it happen,” he said on X.