Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense Secretary Nominee, Surprises GOP Senators

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of defense, has surprised a handful of Republican senators.

President-elect Trump took to social media Tuesday night to announce his selection, saying in part, “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First.”

Hegseth is an Army combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and is also a Fox News host. He left the Army in 2021, according to Reuters, after being labeled an “extremist” he said, and that the Army did not want him. In his book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, Hegseth wrote that the feeling was mutual: “I didn’t want this Army anymore either.”

Andrew Desiderio, senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, posted to X, formerly Twitter, with multiple reactions from senators after the news of Hegseth became known. Trump’s nomination of the Fox News host must be confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate.

GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said “wow,” Desiderio posted. The senator added that she was surprised by the selection, as Hegseth was not on the lists of contenders for the office.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy responded to the news by asking, “who?” according to NBC’s Frank Thorp V’s post on X. Thorp also noted that Republican Senator Ted Budd said Hegseth is “an impressive individual.”

Republican Senator Todd Young said he didn’t “have a sense” of Hegseth’s background or know his vision for the department, according to Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram’s post to X.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis reacted to the news, saying, “interesting,” according to Desiderio.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts denounced the selection of Hegseth on X, saying in part: “I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform. I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”

In a statement to Newsweek via email, Fox News said, “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. 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.”

Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign and Murkowski’s office via email for comment on Tuesday night.

Trump has announced a slew of additional choices for his second administration since his landslide election victory last week. On Tuesday, the president-elect picked Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and John Ratcliffe—former Texas congressman and national intelligence chief during Trump’s first administration—as CIA director, among others.

Update 11/12/24, 11:10 p.m. ET: This article was updated to note that Newsweek reached out to Murkowski’s office.