Trump names Fox News host as secretary of defense

United States (U.S.) President-elect Donald Trump announced that he is nominating a Fox News presenter and veteran U.S. Army National Guard officer Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, Associated Press reported on Nov. 13, 2024.

As secretary of defense, Hegseth would oversee the Defense Department and act as the principal defense policymaker and adviser. 

The 44-year-old would also be head of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Defense Department.

Lloyd J. Austin III is the current secretary of defense. Austin is a retired four-star Army General and was nominated for the position by then-President-elect Joe Biden on Dec. 7, 2020.

Who is Hegseth?

Back in 2017, Hegseth was considered by then-President Trump to lead the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

He is a co-host on the "Fox and Friends Weekend" show.

Trump has had a longstanding relationship with the "Fox and Friends Weekend" show since the 2016 U.S. election, and has appeared on the show numerous times.

Hegseth has been involved in conservative and Republican politics since he was an undergraduate at Princeton University.

He was an equity capital markets analyst before being commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard.

A combat veteran, he has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

All the same, Hegseth lacks national security or senior military experience, AP reported.

He would be stewarding America through a wide range of geopolitical crises including the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Trump appoints real-estate investor as Middle East envoy

Trump named one of his golf partners, real estate investor Steven Witkoff, as special envoy to the Middle East.

He also picked Kristi Noem, a conservative politician and governor of South Dakota, as secretary of homeland security.

Noem gained notoriety for an anecdote she shared in her memoir of having shot her 14-month-old dog for being supposedly "untrainable".

She said she "hated" her dog, who was supposedly "less than worthless... as a hunting dog", The Guardian wrote.

As governor of South Dakota, Noem did not order Covid-19 restrictions issued by other states during the pandemic, and instead declared her state "open for business".

As secretary of homeland security, she will be heading the hardline immigration agenda promised by Trump during his campaign.

Elon Musk and Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy were also picked by Trump to head a new "Department of Government Efficiency".

Trump said:

“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

Top photo from Jim Watson/AFP & HarperCollins.