(CNN) –– President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has chosen Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his Secretary of Defense.
The assignment positions the television personality in a Cabinet-level position for Trump’s second term.
“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in the principle of “America First.” “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are warned: our military will be great again and America will never give up,” Trump said in a statement.
Hegseth has a long history in the military, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He has also acted as an informal adviser to Trump for several years while he was in and out of office, Trump aides told CNN. While Hegseth was considered for several positions in the first Trump administration, he was ultimately passed over, they said.
Hegseth’s name was not among those considered as possible candidates for Trump’s defense secretary among Pentagon officials. In fact, his name barely came up in the lead-up to the announcement, if at all.
A defense official told CNN: “Everyone is just surprised.” Another Pentagon official who was tracking potential picks for defense secretary learned of Hegseth’s prospects only hours before the nomination and, like others who spoke on condition of anonymity to CNN, didn’t know how to react.
But with Hegseth, Trump is likely to have someone loyal leading the department with which he had an often contentious relationship during his first term. The president-elect had disputes with his first defense secretary, James Mattis, who resigned in protest after Trump announced an immediate withdrawal of US forces from Syria. Mark Esper, another Trump-confirmed defense secretary, had openly warned about the threat of another Trump administration in the weeks before the election.
The president-elect is known for valuing how his message is delivered to television audiences, and this appointment elevates the television personality to a critical role in Trump’s second administration. Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida had been considered for the job, but Trump asked him to take over as his national security adviser.
Hegseth started with Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and was named co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend” in 2017. His contract with the network ended Tuesday, according to Fox News.
“His insights and analysis, especially about the military, resonated deeply with our viewers and made the show the smash hit it is today,” Fox News said in a statement. “We are extremely proud of his work at Fox News Media and wish him the best of luck in Washington.”
The Princeton and Harvard graduate also served as CEO of the veterans advocacy organization Concerned Veterans for America and holds two Bronze Stars, according to Simon & Schuster, the company that published his 2017 book “In the Arena.”
In 2019, CNN reported that Hegseth, while working at Fox News, privately encouraged Trump to pardon some US military personnel accused of war crimes. Trump proceeded to pardon two military personnel and restore the rank of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who had been demoted. This controversial decision went against the advice of then-Defense Secretary Esper and other senior military leaders, who told Trump that a presidential pardon could damage the integrity of the military justice system.
Trump has suggested that his National Security team will be tasked with reassessing the United States’ posture toward Ukraine and Russia, China, Iran and the simmering conflict in the Middle East. He has also said he regrets many of the people he put in high-level roles when he won the White House in 2016 and was angry with officials who tried to thwart his often impulsive demands and desires.
The president-elect’s relationship with Pentagon leadership was incredibly strained in his first term, and the two men confirmed to serve as defense secretary under him have been highly critical of Trump since leaving office.
Esper, who served for several years as Trump’s defense secretary before being fired shortly before Trump left office, said earlier this year that the former president should not be trusted with the nation’s secrets again if the allegations made in his federal indictment over the handling of classified documents turn out to be true. A federal judge dismissed that case in a surprise decision in July.
Mattis, who was Trump’s first defense secretary, told journalist Bob Woodward that he agreed with Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, who called the former president “a fascist at heart,” Woodward said. last month on “The Bulwark” podcast. Mattis, in a surprise move, resigned in 2018 as Trump planned to withdraw troops from Syria, citing irreconcilable political differences.
CNN reported last week that Pentagon officials have been considering several scenarios as they prepare for a review of the Defense Department under Trump. The president-elect has suggested he would be open to using active-duty forces for domestic law enforcement and mass deportations. He has also indicated that he wants to fill the federal government with loyalists and “clean out corrupt actors” in the US Homeland Security establishment.
Brian Stelter, Oren Liebermann, Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky Jeremy Herb, Kayla Tausche, Evan Perez and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this post
