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FOX News host Pete Hegseth, center, will be nominated to be the next Defense Secretary, President-elect Donald Trump announced Nov. 12.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Nov. 12 that he intends to nominate Pete Hegseth, a current Fox News host and former Army National Guard officer, to be his Defense Secretary.
In an announcement on the Truth Social website, Trump said Hegseth is a “true believer in America First.” Trump noted Hegseth’s experience as a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with recent work writing best-seller books. For the past eight years, Hegseth has hosted Fox News’s popular “Fox & Friends.”
“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriot champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” Trump wrote.
Hegseth would succeed Lloyd Austin, a retired Army four-star general, who has served as defense secretary for the entirety of President Joe Biden’s administration.
The announcement comes shortly after Trump announced that he picked current Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) to serve as his national security adviser. Waltz, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, has served on the House Armed Services Committee, including as chairman of the readiness subcommittee.
Trump has also announced his intent to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to serve as Secretary of State.
Lastly, Trump also announced Nov. 12 that he will have SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy, charged with cutting regulations and excess spending.
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