President-elect Donald Trump made his most significant Cabinet choice and set up his toughest Senate confirmation battle yet, tapping Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran, to be secretary of defense.
Trump has taken a special interest in staffing the Pentagon, believing he was stymied by civilian and military leaders who resisted demands in his first term to withdraw troops deployed overseas and use the military to put down domestic unrest. Hegseth has long kept close ties to Trump, and the former president has continued praising him and watching Fox News even while criticizing the network as a whole.
Trump has taken a special interest in staffing the Pentagon, believing he was stymied by civilian and military leaders who resisted demands in his first term to withdraw troops deployed overseas and use the military to put down domestic unrest. Hegseth has long kept close ties to Trump, and the former president has continued praising him and watching Fox News even while criticizing the network as a whole.