Trump taps Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary | Global News Avenue

President-elect Donald Trump The former president announced late Tuesday that he would nominate Fox News host Pete Hegers to be defense secretary.

Hegseth, 44, is a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from Harvard University.

“I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth in the Cabinet to serve as Secretary of Defense,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday night. “Pete has been a warrior throughout his life, serving our military and our country. “Pete is strong, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies will take notice – our military will be great again and America will never back down.”

Hegseth joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and became co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

He is the author of the New York Times bestseller “War on the Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the People Who Set Us Free,” in which he denounced what he called “our twisted, woke, and mean-spirited policies.” Today’s military. “

He previously served as head of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles Koch and David Koch.

2012, Heggs Run for Senate A Republican in his home state of Minnesota, but dropped out of the race after the state convention. State Rep. Kurt Bills won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Associated Press that Hegseth “has an excellent background as a junior official but does not have the high-level national security experience required to be secretary of state,” adding, Lack of experience may make it harder for Hegseth to pass Senate confirm.

When asked about the choice Tuesday night, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa told CBS News that Hegseth “would be a very strong secretary.”

But other Republican senators’ first reactions varied.

Asked what he thought, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville responded: “I’d have to think about it.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis called the choice “interesting,” while Indiana Sen. Todd Young said he “doesn’t understand his background.”

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski heard about the news from reporters and responded, “Wow.” When asked if it was a good choice, she said: ” I’m just surprised. I’m not going to comment on whether it’s good, bad, or irrelevant. I’m just surprised that the defense secretary’s name wasn’t included.”

As for whether it would be difficult for him to confirm, Murkowski said: “I don’t know.”

contributed to this report.