WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military. The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington as Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and chose an Army National Guard captain well known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.” While some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others called his combat experience an asset or said he was “tremendously capable.” Hegseth’s choice could bring sweeping changes to the military.
He has made it clear on his show and in interviews that, like Trump, he is opposed to “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion. He also has questioned the role of women in combat and advocated pardoning service members charged with war crimes.
The 44-year-old Hegseth, a staunch conservative who embraces Trump’s “America First” policies, has pushed for making the military more lethal. 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. And while he said diversity in the military is a strength, he said it was because minority and white men can perform similarly but the same isn’t true for women. By opening combat slots to women, “we’ve changed the standards in putting them there, which means you’ve changed the capability of that unit,” Hegseth said in the podcast interview. While Trump lauded Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” others were quick to point to the TV personality’s lack of experience. Some suggested he could be Pentagon chief in name only as the Trump White House runs the department. “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,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 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 defense and picked one who would be loyal to him,” Cancian said. Military officials said the choice came out of the blue. A senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said Hegseth’s selection is raising concerns about whether he has the practical experience to manage a large department with an enormous budget. “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 a statement. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”