Pete Hegseth
Peter Brian Hegseth (; born June 6, 1980) is an American author, television host, and Army veteran who is serving as the 29th United States secretary of defense since January 25, 2025, in the second administration of President Donald Trump.
After graduating from Princeton University, Hegseth began his career working as an analyst for Bear Stearns. From 2003 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2021, he served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, attaining the rank of Major. He received the Bronze Star while serving in the special operations forces during a combat deployment to Iraq in 2005. In 2014, he voluntarily deployed to Afghanistan to train the Afghan security forces. Following his military service, Hegseth became an active figure in conservative and Republican politics and was the executive director of Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. From 2014 to 2025, he was a political commentator for Fox News and was a weekend co-host of Fox & Friends from 2017 to 2024.
In 2016, Hegseth emerged as a supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy, and he served as an occasional advisor to Trump throughout the latter’s first term as president. Following Hegseth’s encouragement, Trump pardoned three soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes in 2019. Hegseth was considered to lead the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the first Trump administration, but David Shulkin was tapped instead. After Trump announced his intention to nominate Hegseth as defense secretary, numerous reports surfaced about alleged sexual misconduct and public drunkenness which threatened his confirmation; during his nomination hearing, Hegseth denied these claims. Hegseth holds strongly conservative views, and has been described as a Christian nationalist. He has written books including American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024).
Upon the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024, Hegseth was nominated to serve as secretary of defense in Trump’s second administration. He was confirmed by the Senate in a 51–50 vote on January 24, 2025, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. He is the second-youngest person to hold this position, after Donald Rumsfeld. He was sworn in on January 25.
