Trump Plans to Appoint Fox News Host as US Defense Secretary

Photo: Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth

Newly elected US President Donald Trump announced that he has chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the policies of the Pentagon leadership, as his Defense Secretary, Reuters reports.

If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth could fulfill Donald Trump's campaign promises to rid the U.S. military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive diversity policies that conservatives oppose.

The 44-year-old NATO skeptic is perhaps the most surprising choice for Trump as he forms his cabinet. The decision has also drawn condemnation from some of Trump's opponents.

In announcing the decision, Trump praised Hegseth, a National Guard veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Cuban prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to his website.

Pete is smart, tough, and a true America First. With Pete at the helm, America's enemies should know: Our military will be great again, and America will never back down, Trump said in a statement.

While Hagseth has expressed limited political positions in the past, he has criticized NATO allies for weakness and said China was on the verge of dominating its neighbors.

Hagseth said he left the military in 2021 after his political and religious views forced him out of the military, which no longer wanted him.

– The feeling was mutual – I didn't want that army anymore, either, – Hegseth said in his book War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the People Who Make Us Free.

During his TV and podcast appearances, he said China is building an army “specifically designed to defeat the United States.”

During the same appearance, Hegseth said Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was “Putin's war to get his shit back.”

“If Ukraine can defend itself, great, but I don't want American meddling to reach deep into Europe and make [Putin] feel like it's on his toes,” Hegseth said.