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Trump Nominates Fox News TV Personality Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary

HeadlineNov 13, 2024

Donald Trump will nominate Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to become secretary of defense. Hegseth co-anchors the morning talk show “Fox & Friends,” where Trump has been a frequent guest. He previously led Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by the far-right billionaire Koch brothers. Hegseth served as infantry captain in the Army National Guard, completing tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. He was a guard at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2004 and 2005, and has argued the prison should not be closed. In 2019, Hegseth successfully lobbied Trump to pardon three U.S. servicemembers accused of war crimes, including an officer found guilty of ordering soldiers to open fire on unarmed Afghan civilians. Hegseth is author of the book “The War on Warriors,” which argues the U.S. military has been made weak by diversity and inclusion initiatives. He has promised to fire so-called woke generals and has argued women should not have combat roles, calling men “more capable.”

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