Who Is Pete Hegseth? Trump’s Choice For US Secretary Of Defense (image-instagram/petehegseth)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday has announced his nomination of Army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary. The name of Hegseth in Trump’s cabinet came after Trump chose several other hardliners for his team including Marco Rubio, Tom Homan, and Kristi Noem.
After announcing his decision, Trump said, “our military will be great again, and America will never back down”.
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“I am honoured to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my cabinet as the secretary of defense. Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” Trump said.
The 44-year-old Hegseth has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. A graduate of Princeton University (2003), Hegseth has a graduate degree from Harvard University.
Hegseth has volunteered for service in Iraq where he served as a platoon leader and a civil-military affairs officer. He was also deployed in Afghanistan with the Minnesota Guard. Hegseth taught counterinsurgency techniques in Kabul.
For proving his bravery on the battlefield, Hegseth was awarded two Bronze stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s badge. Hegseth has stated being sidelined for his political and religious views for his quitting military in 2010.
“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,” Trump said.
He later then went on to join as a contributor for Fox in 2024 and currently hosts ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’.
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Hegseth made headlines for his strong views on Iran, in 2020. He had described Iran as “an evil regime” and called for aggressive military action against the country to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.
He had also been critical of international laws regarding war crimes saying they were “rigged” against America, and wanted the US to rewrite these laws.
