WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump shocked the Pentagon and the broader protection world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping somebody largely inexperienced and untested on the worldwide stage to take over the world’s largest and strongest army.
The information was met with bewilderment and fear amongst many in Washington as Trump handed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and selected an Military Nationwide Guard officer well-known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox Information Channel’s “Fox & Buddies Weekend.”
Whereas some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others known as his fight expertise an asset or mentioned he was “tremendously succesful.”
Hegseth’s selection may carry sweeping changes to the military. He has made it clear on his present and in interviews that, like Trump, he’s against “woke” applications that promote fairness and inclusion. He additionally has questioned the function of girls in fight and advocated pardoning service members charged with conflict crimes.
In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump inspired his supporters to purchase Hegseth’s e-book and mentioned that if he gained the presidency, “The woke stuff will probably be gone inside a interval of 24 hours. I can inform you.”
The 44-year-old Hegseth, a staunch conservative who embraces Trump’s “America First” insurance policies, has pushed for making the army extra deadly. Throughout an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Present” podcast, he mentioned permitting girls to serve in fight hurts that effort.
“The whole lot about women and men serving collectively makes the scenario extra sophisticated, and complication in fight, which means casualties are worse,” Hegseth mentioned.
And whereas he mentioned range within the army is a power, he mentioned it was as a result of minority and white males can carry out equally however the identical isn’t true for ladies.
By opening fight slots to girls, “we’ve modified the requirements in placing them there, which suggests you’ve modified the aptitude of that unit,” Hegseth mentioned within the podcast interview.
Since then-Protection Secretary Ash Carter opened all fight roles to girls in 2016, girls have efficiently handed the army’s grueling exams to develop into Green Berets and Army Rangers, and the Naval Particular Warfare’s take a look at to function a combatant-craft crewman — the boat operators who transport Navy SEALs and conduct their very own categorised missions at sea.
Whereas Trump lauded Hegseth as “powerful, good and a real believer in America First,” others had been fast to level to the TV character’s lack of expertise. Some steered he may very well be Pentagon chief in title solely because the Trump White Home runs the division.
Quite a lot of different names floated as attainable protection selections had included Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the Home Armed Providers Committee; retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; and Robert Wilkie, a former Pentagon official who was head of the Division of Veterans Affairs in Trump’s first time period.
“There may be purpose for concern that this isn’t an individual who’s a severe sufficient policymaker, severe sufficient coverage implementer, to do a profitable job,” mentioned Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the rating Democrat on the Home Armed Providers Committee.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research, mentioned Hegseth’s lack of senior nationwide safety expertise makes it tougher to get Senate affirmation.
“I believe Trump was uninterested in combating along with his secretaries of protection and picked one who can be loyal to him,” Cancian mentioned.
Navy officers mentioned the selection got here out of the blue. A senior army officer, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to speak to the media, mentioned Hegseth’s choice is elevating issues about whether or not he has the sensible expertise to handle a big division with an infinite finances.
The Protection Division has a finances exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and one other 1.4 million within the Nationwide Guard, Reserves and civilian staff primarily based worldwide.
If confirmed, Hegseth would face a frightening array of worldwide crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the increasing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the rising competitors with China. There may be additionally the necessity to improve the advanced U.S. missile and nuclear protection equipment and make sure the protection trade can sustain with America’s want for weapons methods.
Smith mentioned that whereas Hegseth’s fight expertise is a plus, working the Pentagon requires a number of different talent units, and his nomination will want a while for consideration.
“What’s your plan? What are you going to do? … How are you going to guarantee us that that lack of expertise, you understand, isn’t going to make it unattainable so that you can do the job?” Smith mentioned. “I believe these are questions that have to be answered over the following couple of months.”
Even some Republicans within the Senate, who would vote on his nomination, had a subdued response.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis known as the selection “attention-grabbing.” Indiana Sen. Todd Younger, who served within the Marine Corps, mentioned, “I don’t know a lot about his background or his imaginative and prescient, so I look ahead to studying extra.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven mentioned he’s not shocked that Trump selected Hegseth as a result of Trump is “near him and likes him and trusts him.”
“The man’s clearly tremendously succesful, a terrific communicator,” Hoeven mentioned. “I look ahead to attending to know him higher.”
Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., mentioned Hegseth brings loads to the desk and will probably be “reform-minded within the areas that want reform.”
Hegseth has been a contributor since 2014 for Fox Information, growing a friendship with Trump, who made common appearances on his present. He’s the writer of “The Conflict on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Males Who Maintain Us Free.”
“With Pete on the helm, America’s enemies are on discover — Our Navy will probably be Nice Once more, and America will By no means Again Down,” Trump mentioned in a press release. “No person fights more durable for the Troops, and Pete will probably be a brave and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace by Energy’ coverage.”
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Related Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
