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United States President-elect Donald Trump has picked Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth, a pro-Israel and Iran hawk, to serve as his defence secretary, lauding him as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First”.
The 44-year-old’s nomination to lead the world’s most powerful military has come in for criticism from the Democrats, who pointed out his “lack of experience” on the global stage.
“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, posted on X.
So, who is Hegseth and will his inexperience come in the way of discharging his duty as the Pentagon chief?
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Hegseth, who served Afghanistan and Iraq, joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and now co-hosts Fox and Friends Weekend as well as serves as a host for Fox Nation.
He has also authored multiple books, including The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, which have come in for praise from Trump.
The War on Warriors, a bestseller, “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence”, the president-elect wrote, according to the AFP news agency.
Hegseth defended service members accused of war crimes and in 2019, he urged Trump to pardon US service members who had been accused of war crimes. According to The Washington Post, Hegseth’s lobbying of Trump in 2019 resulted in the pardon of two service members who were accused of murder, and the reinstatement of rank of a third who was found guilty of posing with a body in Iraq.
The 44-year-old developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on his Fox News show.
He also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in Minnesota in 2012.
According to his Fox News bio, he has a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also did a graduation from Princeton University.
Hegseth lives with his wife and seven children in the southern state of Tennessee.
What was his role in the military?
After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as at Guantanamo Bay. He was awarded two Bronze Star Medals for his military service, according to his official website.
The 44-year-old veteran was formerly head of the Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch.
What challenges lie ahead of him?
Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience.
The Department of Defense has a budget exceeding $800bn, with about 1.3 million active-duty soldiers and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, the Army Reserve and civilian employees worldwide.
If confirmed, Hegseth would face the daunting task of tackling an array of global conflicts – from the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon to the Russia-Ukraine war – and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the rise of China.
Smith, the Democrat, said while Hegseth’s combat experience is a plus, running the Pentagon requires a lot of other skill sets.
“What’s your plan? What are you going to do? … How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn’t going to make it impossible for you to do the job?” Smith said.
“I think those are questions that need to be answered over the next couple of months.”
While heading the Pentagon is considered a key job in any administration, the post of defence secretary saw a tumultuous period during Trump’s first term between 2016-2020. Five men held the job during Trump’s four years.
What’s his stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict and Iran?
Hegseth has been pro-Israel in his coverage of war on Gaza and dubbed the two-state solution a “lip service”. He did a series – Battle in the Holy Land: Israel at War – about the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March.
“My interview with Israeli PM @netanyahu today. Israel needs our support!” he posted on X in March.
As an evangelical Christian, he views the Israel-Palestine conflict through a biblical lens.
“This is not some mystical land that can be dismissed. It’s the story of God’s chosen people. That story didn’t end in 1776 or in 1948 or with the founding of the UN. All of these things still resonate and matter today,” Hegseth said in a 2016 interview with the Jewish Press.
Hegseth has also been hawkish towards Iran, calling Tehran “an evil regime” in the wake of the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, in 2020.
Will he launch a culture war?
Hegseth’s choice could bring sweeping changes to the military, as he has made it clear on his show and in interviews that, like Trump, he is stridently opposed to “woke” programmes that promote equity and inclusion.
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.
In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump encouraged his supporters to buy Hegseth’s book after saying, if he won, “the woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you.”
Hegseth wrote in the book released in June: “For the past three years — after President Barack Obama poured the social justice foundation — the Pentagon, across all branches, has embraced the social justice messages of gender equity, racial diversity, climate stupidity, and the LGBTQA+ alphabet soup in their recruiting pushes.”
His conservative agenda could put him on a collision course with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown. Hegseth has accused Brown of “pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians”.
During an interview on The Shawn Ryan Show podcast, he said allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.
“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth has said he left the military in 2021 after being sidelined for his political and religious views by an army that did not want him any more.
“The feeling was mutual – I didn’t want this Army anymore either,” Hegseth said in his book The War on Warriors.
What are his views on NATO, the Russia-Ukraine war and China?
Hegseth has been sharply critical of the US’s European allies and his selection could fuel greater anxiety in NATO members about what a Trump administration will mean for the alliance.
“Outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent. Why should America, the European ’emergency contact number’ for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?” Hegseth wrote in his book.
“Maybe if NATO countries actually ponied up for their own defense — but they don’t. They just yell about the rules while gutting their militaries and yelling at America for help.”
In appearances on podcasts and television, he has said China is building a military “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America”.
“They have a full spectrum long-term view of not just regional but global domination and we are we have our heads up our asses,” Hegseth said on another podcast last week.
He also said Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine appeared to be “Putin’s give-me-my-s***-back war”.
Trump has been critical of President Joe Biden’s assistance for Ukraine, fuelling concern about the future of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government under a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and possibly House of Representatives.
“If Ukraine can defend themselves … great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe and making (Putin) feel like he’s so much on his heels,” Hegseth said.
How has his appointment been received so far?
Trump hailed Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First” in a social media post announcing the nomination.
“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 his statement.
“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, pointed towards his inexperience.
“There is reason for concern that this is not a person who is a serious enough policymaker, serious enough policy implementer, to do a successful job.”
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC-based think tank, said Hegseth’s lack of senior national security experience makes it more difficult to get Senate confirmation.
“I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defence and picked one who would be loyal to him,” Cancian said.
But Republicans have given a thumbs up.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Hegseth brings a lot to the table and will be “reform-minded in the areas that need reform”.