By: Alex Welz – nationalreview.com – November 12, 2024

Before joining Fox in 2014, Hegseth served as an Army National Guard Captain in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as the next secretary of defense.

Hegseth’s appointment, which is sure to attract the ire of Democrats given his long-standing association with Fox, will require confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate.

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement.

“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” he declared.

Before joining Fox in 2014, Hegseth served as an Army National Guard captain in Afghanistan and Iraq and earned the Bronze Star medal for his service in the latter.

“Pete Hegseth has been an exceptional host on FOX & Friends and FOX Nation and a best-selling author for FOX News Books for nearly a decade,” Fox News Media said in a statement. “His insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success that it is today. 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 has been most vocal advocating on behalf of veterans, serving as executive director of Vets for Freedom from 2007-2010. He was even considered by Trump to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs during the former president’s first term in office.

Few had Hegseth on their radar for the prominent role, as Trump seems set on wasting no time filling out his cabinet ahead of his second term in the Oval Office come January.

The announcement came shortly after John Ratcliffe was named Trump’s next director of the CIA, news that Trump shared on social media.

Ratcliffe, a former four-term Texas congressman, previously served under President Trump as director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe remained a steadfast ally of the former president, having echoed many of Trump’s concerns regarding the trustworthiness of the nation’s intelligence agencies, the most prominent of which he will now be tasked with leading.

“From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the FBI’s abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ratcliffe also served as the co-chairman for American security at the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank.

“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” the president-elect posted on Truth Social.

“He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Trump’s other notable appointments consist of: former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as director of the Environmental Protection Agency, fellow New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary, Trump campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan as border czar, and Florida congressman Mike Waltz as national security adviser.

To see this article in its entirety and to subscribe to others like it, please choose to read more.

Source: Trump Taps Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense | National Review