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Pete Hegseth | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| 29th United States Secretary of Defense | |
| Assumed office January 25, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy |
|
| Preceded by | Lloyd Austin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Brian Hegseth June 6, 1980 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 7[a] |
| Education | |
| Website | Official website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American television presenter, author, and Army National Guard officer who has served as the United States secretary of defense since January 2025.
Hegseth studied politics at Princeton University, where he published for The Princeton Tory, a conservative student newspaper. In 2003, he was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, for whom he served at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth worked for several organizations after leaving Iraq, including as an executive director at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. He became a contributor for Fox News in 2014. Hegseth served as an advisor to President Donald Trump after initially supporting his campaign in 2016. From 2017 to 2024, he was a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. He has written several books, including American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024).
In November 2024, then-President-elect Trump named Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense. A Senate Committee on Armed Services committee hearing for Hegseth was held days before Trump's second inauguration. He faced allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and alcohol issues leading up to his committee confirmation. He was confirmed by the Senate, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote, the second time in U.S. history that a Cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by a vice president after Betsy DeVos in 2017. He is the second youngest person to serve as secretary of defense, after Donald Rumsfeld, and the first Minnesotan to serve in the position.
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