Trump's 'anti-woke' defence pick surprises Washington - here's why
BBCPete Hegseth has spent the past eight years on the couch of a Fox News morning show defending President-elect Donald Trump and advocating for a conservative cultural shift in the US military, and he could soon be directing that agenda from behind the top desk at the Pentagon.
The Republican president-elect announced on Wednesday that Hegseth, a television host and veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was his nominee for defence secretary - a role typically filled by senior civil servants, experienced politicians and high-level executives.
While the 44-year-old has little of the traditional experience expected for such an important cabinet position - he would be the second-youngest person to serve in the office - he could aim to transform the Department of Defense if confirmed by the Senate.
Just last week, Hegseth said on a podcast that the chairman of the t chiefs of staff - the US's top military leader - should be fired, along with any "general, iral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] woke [expletive]”.
He also said that women should not serve in combat roles because he argued it had not made the military "more effective" or "more lethal".
"Over human history, men in those positions are more capable," he said.
He has also reportedly called for the Defence Department to be renamed the War Department and for a 10-year ban on generals working as defence contractors after leaving the military.
Those views have earned Hegseth many conservative fans, particularly those close to the president-elect. But some also question whether he is capable of running an agency that is considered one of the world's largest bureaucracies, with a budget of nearly $900bn (£708bn).
Does he have enough experience?
Former Pentagon officials stressed that this role is one of the most critical appointments that the president could make, as the office-holder guides national security decisions and oversees the 2.9 million civilians and military service who work for the Defence Department across the world.
"I've thought before that it was a harder job than the presidency," Lincoln Bloomfield, who served in the Pentagon under Presidents George W Bush and Ronald Reagan, told the BBC.
"Hegseth's not an old guy. He's in his prime, so he has all the energy he needs," added Bloomfield, who noted that the television host was well-educated and a combat veteran.
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"But the question is how much does experience help lead to finding solutions? This is a job where every morning there are at least a dozen kinds of fires burning."
It is unclear how Hegseth will fare during his confirmation process in the Senate, when he is likely to faces hours of grilling in hearings.
Some officials anticipated a challenging path through the Senate given his short CV that does not include much work on national security or foreign policy issues.
"This is a job that will involve thousands of hours of advising the president and how, when and under what circumstances to use military force," Mara Karlin, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden istration, said. "It will involve figuring out how to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars and the care of millions of of the US military and civilians and their families."
A Trump ally unfamiliar to many
Some lawmakers in Washington DC appeared initially perplexed by Hegseth's appointment to oversee one of the most complex bureaucracies in the world.
“I confess I didn’t know who he was until 20 minutes ago,” Representative Adam Smith, who serves as the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Wednesday. “And he certainly doesn’t seem to have any background whatsoever in (Department of Defence) policy.”
Other lawmakers were more blunt.
“Who?” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy told NBC News when asked about the appointment. “I don’t know Pete. I just don’t know anything about him.”
A co-host of the Fox & Friends weekend show for eight years, Hegseth was reportedly considered for a post during Trump's first istration. But several former military and Pentagon officials said that Hegseth was not a known quantity in the Washington defence community.
"There are different worlds that past secretaries have come from - political people, technocrats, some from Congress - but traditionally they have a pretty decent level of experience with defence, national security issues and foreign policy," Ms Karlin said.
The Princeton and Harvard graduate served as an infantry platoon leader in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He later deployed to Afghanistan as a counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul.
Many pointed to Hegseth's military experience as a potential aid if he were to be confirmed.
"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. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice," Trump said in a statement announcing his choice.
Others, meanwhile, raised issue with Hegseth's close ties to the president-elect.
John Bolton, who served as Trump's national security adviser, told the BBC that the post of defence secretary should never be a "loyalty appointment".
The person in the position should be willing to provide honest advice, Bolton said, even if it is unpopular.
"The question is: Will he be a yes man to Donald Trump or will he behave professionally and with courage the way he did when he was in uniform">Republicans have won control of both chambers of Congress, yielding Trump limited congressional oversight for at least 2 years.
