Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American government official and former television personality who has served since 2025 as the 29th United States secretary of defense.
Hegseth studied politics at Princeton University, where he was the publisher of The Princeton Tory, a conservative student newspaper. In 2003, he was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, serving at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and 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 to Fox News in 2014. Hegseth served as an advisor to President Donald Trump after supporting his campaign in 2016. From 2017 to 2024, Hegseth co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend. He has written several books, including American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024).
In November 2024, President-elect Trump named Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense. In a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing days before Trump's second inauguration, Hegseth faced allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and excessive drinking. Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate that month, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote. It was only the second time in US history that a Cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by a vice president, following Betsy DeVos during the first Trump administration in 2017. Hegseth is the second-youngest secretary of defense after Donald Rumsfeld, who first occupied the position in the Ford administration.
Hegseth has drawn criticism during his tenure as Secretary of Defense for a variety of actions such as: the fallout from a leaked government group chat on Signal, alleged war crimes related to U.S. military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea, promoting Christianity inside the military, using unmarked military planes for boat strikes, and the use of force and the rules of engagement in the 2026 Iran war.
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