Pete Hegseth
Fox & Friends Weekend Host · 2014–2024
Pete Hegseth is a Princeton graduate and National Guard veteran who spent the last decade as a Fox & Friends weekend host, cheerleading Trump on television with the enthusiasm of someone auditioning for a job — which, it turns out, he was.
He had no experience commanding large organizations, no Pentagon experience, no senior military leadership, and active sexual assault allegations against him at the time of his nomination. A 2017 settlement was paid to a woman who accused him of assault at a Republican conference in California. A separate allegation surfaced during the confirmation process. Hegseth denied both.
The Senate confirmed him 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote — the first time in U.S. history a SecDef was confirmed by a VP tiebreaker. He promptly fired senior military officials, ended Pentagon diversity programs, and shared sensitive operational information in a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother — people with no security clearances.
A woman accuses Hegseth of sexually assaulting her at a Republican conference in Monterey, California. A settlement is paid. Hegseth admits the encounter but denies assault. The allegation surfaces publicly during his 2024 confirmation process.
Trump nominates Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Pentagon officials, current and former military brass, and members of both parties express alarm. Hegseth has never led an organization larger than a small nonprofit (Concerned Veterans for America, which he ran briefly before departing amid accusations of financial mismanagement).
Senate confirms Hegseth 50-50. JD Vance casts the tiebreaking vote. It is the first time in American history the Vice President has had to break a tie to confirm a Secretary of Defense. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell vote against him. He is confirmed anyway.
Hegseth shares details of planned U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in a Signal group chat — with his wife, his brother, and others who have no security clearances or operational need to know. The chat inadvertently includes Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. The texts detail timing, targets, and weapons packages before the strikes occur. Hegseth calls it "a hoax." The texts are published.