President Trump Nominates Veteran & Fox News Host Pete Hegseth As Secretary of Defense

President Trump has just announced his choice for Secretary of Defense.

And, it’s Pete Hegseth, a combat veteran and weekend co-host of Fox & Friends.

Check it out:

🚨BREAKING: President Trump Just Announced Pete Hegseth @PeteHegseth as Secretary of Defense Congratulations Pete!!!

Thanks to President Trump do the right thing for WE THE PEOPLE! Let's Make America Great Again! pic.twitter.com/yPT364QUqj

— AJ Huber (@Huberton) November 13, 2024

What an upgrade!

Congratulations @PeteHegseth!! pic.twitter.com/L96Dgk7mId

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 13, 2024

This is a historic nomination, as Pete Hegseth will be one of the youngest people to ever serve as Secretary of Defense:

The average age for Secretaries of Defense is 57 years old upon taking office.

Pete Hegseth, at 44, will be one of the youngest Secretaries in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/3SFLsmCPIq

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) November 13, 2024

ABC News reported:

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday night.

Trump listed Hegseth’s experience as a veteran and his media experience as his reasons for the choice.

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. 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 the post.

AP explained more about who Pete Hegseth is and why President Trump chose him:

In picking Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has selected a military veteran and popular conservative media personality with a large following of his own.

Hegseth, 44, has developed a close rapport with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration. Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release service members accused of war crimes.

Here are a few things to know about Hegseth.

He’s a Fox News personality and author

Co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Hegseth has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He developed a friendship with Trump through the president-elect’s regular appearances on the show. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson complimented Hegseth’s military knowledge, saying his “insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers.”

He’s also written a number of books, several for the network’s publishing imprint, including “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In announcing Hegseth’s nomination, Trump complimented that book, noting its “nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.”

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He’s a military veteran

Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience.

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 formerly head of the Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and 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 John F. Kennedy School of Government.

As Trump formulated his first Cabinet following his 2016 win, he reportedly considered Hegseth to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. He again considered Hegseth when Secretary David Shulkin faced criticism before his ouster in 2018.