Fox News co-host, author and National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth has been named to lead the world’s most powerful military as secretary of defense. He was a strong supporter of WE President-elect Donald Trump and a harsh critic of NATO for years.

The 44-year-old served as an infantry officer in the National Guard, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and received two Bronze Star medals, his official website states. He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and now co-hosts Fox and Friends Weekend and is also the host of Fox Nation. He also wrote several books, including The war against the warriors: behind the betrayal of the men who keep us free, released earlier this year. The presenter spoke openly about the fight against “wokeness” in the army.

Trump praised Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First” in a social media post announcing the nomination. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies know: our military will be great again and America will never back down.”

The candidate said Russiathe invasion of 2022 Ukraine appeared to be “Putin’s war to get my shit back” during a podcast last week, according to Reuters.

He lamented the amount of aid the United States has sent to kyiv over the past three years. “If Ukraine can defend itself (…) so much the better, but I don’t want an American intervention to penetrate deep into Europe and give (Putin) the impression of being on his tail,” he said. he declared.

Other topics of interest

“No information on Ukrainian children” – Ukraine at War, November 13 update

Trump taps Florida representative and special forces veteran to advise on foreign policy; Some 19,000 Ukrainian children still missing in Russia, kyiv says; Moscow continues its attacks on the energy network of border towns.

Hegseth’s background sets him apart from previous military appointees of the president-elect. The Secretary of Defense leads the Department of Defense and a congressionally appropriated budget worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The secretary is considered the highest-ranking defense policy official and oversees the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump has had five defense secretaries during his first term in the White House, only two of whom lasted long enough to go through Senate confirmation.

Four-star general and Marine Jim Mattis served as secretary of defense for most of the first two years of Trump’s term. He clashed with then-president and resigned after Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from Syria. Mark Esper, an Army veteran and technical executive, then took over. His relationship with Trump deteriorated following the 45th president’s announcement regarding the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Trump fired Esper in the aftermath of the 2020 election for saying there was no reason to contest the results.

Hegseth previously headed Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires and oil tycoons Charles and David Koch.

He was also a leading supporter of overturning the convictions of four former Blackwater contractors convicted of a 2007 shooting spree that killed more than a dozen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. His lobbying is believed to have played a major role in convincing Trump to grant the pardon as one of his final acts in office.

Hegseth is an Ivy Leaguer, having graduated from Princeton and Harvard, although his website indicates that he returned his degree to the latter institution, and he has criticized it on air for his alleged left-wing leanings. Millennial was reportedly considered for the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the first Trump administration, but was ultimately not selected for the position.

Hegseth has “excellent experience as a junior officer, but does not have the high-level national security experience that secretaries need,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic Studies and international. The associated press. His lack of experience could make winning Senate confirmation more difficult.

“I think Trump got tired of fighting with his defense secretaries and chose one who would be loyal to him,” Cancian added.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the choice “interesting” and Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said he didn’t have “a sense of his past” in comments to CBS News. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said, “I should think about that,” while Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska learned of the selection from a reporter and simply responded, “Wow.”

He lives with his wife and seven children in Tennessee.

Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary must be approved by the Senate by a simple majority — or a “yes” vote from at least 50 percent of the sitting members — before he can join Trump’s Cabinet.