U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked as his secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has hit out at European NATO members’ defense spending and the U.S. support for Ukraine.
Pete Hegseth has been sharply critical of the United States’ European allies, and his selection could fuel even greater anxiety in NATO about what a Trump administration will mean for the alliance.
“Outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent. Why should America, the European ‘emergency contact number’ for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?” Hegseth wrote in his book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, published earlier this year.
“Maybe if NATO countries actually ponied up for their own defense — but they don’t. They just yell about the rules while gutting their militaries and yelling at America for help,” he added.
In appearances on podcasts and television, Hegseth has said China is building a military “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”
“They have a full-spectrum, long-term view of not just regional but global domination and [...] we have our heads up our asses,” Hegseth said on a podcast last week.
During the same appearance, Hegseth said Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine appeared to be “Putin’s give-me-my-s**t-back war.”
Trump has been critical of President Joe Biden’s assistance for Ukraine, fueling concern about the future of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government under a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and possibly House of Representatives.
“If Ukraine can defend themselves [...] great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe and making [Putin] feel like he's so much on his heels,” Hegseth said.
“Outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent. Why should America, the European ‘emergency contact number’ for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?” Hegseth wrote in his book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, published earlier this year.
“Maybe if NATO countries actually ponied up for their own defense — but they don’t. They just yell about the rules while gutting their militaries and yelling at America for help,” he added.
In appearances on podcasts and television, Hegseth has said China is building a military “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”
“They have a full-spectrum, long-term view of not just regional but global domination and [...] we have our heads up our asses,” Hegseth said on a podcast last week.
During the same appearance, Hegseth said Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine appeared to be “Putin’s give-me-my-s**t-back war.”
Trump has been critical of President Joe Biden’s assistance for Ukraine, fueling concern about the future of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government under a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and possibly House of Representatives.
“If Ukraine can defend themselves [...] great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe and making [Putin] feel like he's so much on his heels,” Hegseth said.
Qualifications questioned
The 44-year-old NATO-skeptic is perhaps Trump’s most surprising pick as he fills out his cabinet ahead of the January 20 inauguration, and the decision drew swift condemnation from some of Trump’s opponents.
But announcing his decision on Tuesday, the president-elect praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and, according to his website, served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“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.”
“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, posted on X.
His selection also caused shock in the Pentagon, where officials privately questioned what qualified him for the position.
A senior Defense Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said Hegseth is not even qualified for a far less senior job.
Hegseth, who has little management experience, and retired from the military with the rank of major, will be in charge of 1.3 million active-duty service members and the nearly 1 million civilians who work for the military.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Hegseth could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to rid the U.S. military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Pacific and the Middle East, who Hegseth accused of “pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians.”
Hegseth has said he left the military in 2021 after being sidelined for his political and religious views by an Army that didn’t want him anymore.
“The feeling was mutual - I didn’t want this Army anymore either,” Hegseth said in The War on Warriors.
“The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired,” he wrote in his book.
Hegseth also took aim at Joint Chiefs Chairman Brown in particular, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.
“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote.
Trump's former U.S. generals and defense secretaries are among his fiercest critics, with some declaring him unfit for office. Trump has suggested that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, could be executed for treason.
But announcing his decision on Tuesday, the president-elect praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and, according to his website, served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“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.”
“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, posted on X.
His selection also caused shock in the Pentagon, where officials privately questioned what qualified him for the position.
A senior Defense Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said Hegseth is not even qualified for a far less senior job.
Hegseth, who has little management experience, and retired from the military with the rank of major, will be in charge of 1.3 million active-duty service members and the nearly 1 million civilians who work for the military.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Hegseth could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to rid the U.S. military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Pacific and the Middle East, who Hegseth accused of “pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians.”
‘Anti-woke’ warrior
Hegseth has said he left the military in 2021 after being sidelined for his political and religious views by an Army that didn’t want him anymore.
“The feeling was mutual - I didn’t want this Army anymore either,” Hegseth said in The War on Warriors.
“The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired,” he wrote in his book.
Hegseth also took aim at Joint Chiefs Chairman Brown in particular, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.
“Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter,” he wrote.
Trump's former U.S. generals and defense secretaries are among his fiercest critics, with some declaring him unfit for office. Trump has suggested that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, could be executed for treason.
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