President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and military veteran, as his nominee for defense secretary. In his statement, Trump praised Hegseth as “tough, smart, and a true believer in America First,” adding that with him in charge, America’s military would be “Great Again” and the country would “Never Back Down.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, expressed support for Trump’s selection, calling Hegseth an excellent choice. Johnson highlighted Hegseth’s experience and suggested he would bring a reform-oriented approach to areas that require change, although he did not specify which programs needed reform.
However, Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed surprise at the nomination. Smith admitted that he was unfamiliar with Hegseth until recently and questioned his qualifications for the role, noting Hegseth’s limited background in Department of Defense (DoD) policy and his experience mainly in veterans’ affairs. Smith voiced concern about Hegseth’s lack of experience managing large bureaucracies like the Pentagon, which he called the “biggest bureaucracy in the world,” and suggested the role would be a significant challenge for him.
During his first term, President Trump appointed James Mattis and later Mark Esper to head the Department of Defense. Mattis resigned in December 2018, and in his resignation letter, he indicated that he and Trump had differing views on issues like how to treat U.S. allies and the need for a clear-eyed approach to adversaries and global competitors.
Trump dismissed Esper in 2020 after a series of disagreements, one of which involved the use of active-duty military troops to respond to the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
As part of a series of appointments for his second term, President Trump announced several key nominations on Tuesday. He revealed that he would nominate former Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, to become CIA director.
Earlier in the week, Trump also selected Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, as his nominee for U.N. ambassador, and named Lee Zeldin, a former House Republican from New York, as his choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
On Sunday, Trump appointed former immigration official Tom Homan as his “border czar.”
Trump’s first major announcement regarding his second administration came last week when he named Susie Wiles, his campaign manager, as his pick for White House chief of staff.