Our new Secretary of Defense? Pete Hegseth

Trump has put forth his pick to become Secretary of Defense.

Pete Hegseth, Fox news commentator, conservative activist, accomplished military veteran. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hegseth


‘Who the f--k is this guy?’: Defense world reacts to Trump’s surprise Pentagon pick

“Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history,” one veterans’ advocate said.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Tuesday night surprise pick of a conservative commentator and television host as his Pentagon chief shocked Washington, which had expected the nominee to be a seasoned lawmaker or someone with defense policy experience.

National security officials and defense analysts had braced for surprises from Trump after experiencing his first four years in office. But even grading on that curve, they say the announcement of Fox News host and decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth caught them totally off-guard.

“[Trump] puts the highest value on loyalty,” Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, said in an interview. “It appears that one of the main criteria that’s being used is, how well do people defend Donald Trump on television?”

One assessment was more blunt. “Who the fuck is this guy?” said a defense industry lobbyist who was granted anonymity to offer candid views. The lobbyist said they had hoped for “someone who actually has an extensive background in defense. That would be a good start.”

The pick will do little to quell fears inside the Pentagon and beyond that Trump, who jousted with his own defense secretaries, plans this time to install a loyalist who will unquestioningly carry out his policies. Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric has primed fears that his second term could see a swift and divisive overhaul at the Pentagon.

Hegseth’s selection drew immediate backlash from veterans group leaders who opposed him when he was floated for Veterans Affairs secretary during Trump’s first term. He is a former executive director for Vets for Freedom and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America — a group advocating for outsourcing of health care for veterans that was funded by the Koch brothers.

“Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history. And the most overtly political. Brace yourself, America,” Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, said in a post on X Tuesday night.

Rieckhoff said he had believed that Hegseth — “a highly effective and ferocious media, culture and political warrior for MAGA. And beyond loyal to and trusted by Trump” — would be Trump’s pick for chief of staff or press secretary.

Read the article for the full story.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/1...gseth-00189221

The question to the forum is this. Will the senate go against Trump and scuttle this nomination or will they kiss the ring? Does this guy have the experience to actually run the Pentagon?

He couldn't be any worse than some of his predecessors:

Caspar Weinberger, Robert McNamara, Donald Rumsfeld;

or worse than the current one: Lloyd Austin.

Also this guy, remember him? He wasn't Secretary of Defense but he sure wasn't the right candidate to be Commander In Chief.




At least President-Elect Trump is not picking people based on the fact their sexual orientation and skin color. He is picking people based on their experience, education and qualification.

At least President-Elect Trump is not picking people based on the fact their sexual orientation and skin color. He is picking people based on their experience, education and qualification. Originally Posted by CG2014

Oh please, He’s picking people based on how good they look on TV and how loyal they are. Experience and capability are at the bottom of the list.

He will be just a "yes man" and that is all Trump is looking for after dealing with those generals who knew what they were doing in his previous regime. He certainly won't have to worry about any push back from that camera clown.

I was aghast when I first heard about that but after reading Hegseth’s Wikipedia entry am not. While in the Army National guard, he was deployed to Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan and served as a captain and senior counter insurgency officer. He has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. I fear he’s a neoconservative.

Pete has two Bronze Stars from Combat.


The reason the Pentagon doesn't like him is he hasn't passed their political gamesmanship which means he doesn't have ties to the swamp.


Actually it is a bold pick that will shake things up a bit, and I bet the majority in the military, not the Pentagon, support this choice.

LOL...

This is a great pick.. all of fainting couch liberals here don't have the first clue about anything they are hyperventilating about.

First job is to recall Milley and get him in front of a Court Martial if nothing else as a lesson to the rest of the GO's.

People criticizing Hegseth... but think this is totally normal are clueless.

As the left says Trump is a threat to "bureaucracy"...,you gota LOVE IT!!!

A shudder just went through the Pentagon Brass.

LOL...

This is a great pick.. all of fainting couch liberals here don't have the first clue about anything they are hyperventilating about.

First job is to recall Milley and get him in front of a Court Martial if nothing else as a lesson to the rest of the GO's. Originally Posted by texassapper

Sounds like something that they would do in North Korea or Russia or maybe China. I know let’s arrest some family members and hold them in detention for questioning. Maybe that will get the loyalty you want.

I think that more than liberals are fainting over this choice. Hegseth is an idealogue whose opinions are out of the mainstream.

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Hegseth, the co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekends," is a longtime conservative and staunch Trump ally who has talked about the changes Trump should make at the Pentagon. He said the Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown should be fired for "pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians."

And he believes women should not be in combat for the U.S. military, a point he reiterated last week in an interview with "The Shawn Ryan Show" podcast.

"I'm just saying straight-up, we should not have women in combat roles," he said. "It hasn't made us more effective. It hasn't made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated."

Hegseth is the author of the recent book "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free," a New York Times bestseller, in which he denounces what he calls the "warped, woke, and caustic policies of our current military."

In 2021, Hegseth was one of 12 National Guard members removed from a role guarding President Biden's inauguration after vetting by military officials due to possible extremist ties. He has tattoos associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazis (on a recent podcast, Hegseth defended one as "just a Christian symbol").

Hegseth previously served as head of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch.

Hegseth has "an excellent background as a junior officer but does not have the senior national security experience that secretaries need," Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Associated Press, adding that the lack of experience might make it more difficult for Hegseth to get through Senate confirmation.

Read the full article here:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-p...nse-secretary/
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I think that this choice will be a clear bellwether for whether the Senate will just rollout Trump’s policies or not. No matter how outside the mainstream they are.

Great pick. Enlisted men will love him. Officers, not so much.

Great pick. Enlisted men will love him. Officers, not so much. Originally Posted by Jacuzzme

And thats what the folks that never put on a uniform in here don't get.

The General Officer corps is broken. Every last one of them should be dismissed for failure to perform because they ALL ordered their subordinates to take the clot shot.

It is SPECIFICALLY forbidden to force experimental drugs on the armed forces. The COMIRNATY vax was approved, but what was ACTUALLY forced on the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines was the pfizer BIONTECH concoction.

A bait and switch so to speak. AND EVERY OFFICER THAT PASSED THAT ILLEGAL ORDER TO TAKE THE SHOT SHOULD BE HANDED THEIR PAPERS.

We aren't the wermacht. Following orders is not an excuse.

EVERY SOLDIER HAS A DUTY TO NOT FOLLOW AN ILLEGAL ORDER.

And not a single GO protested or resigned.

They all ought to hang their heads in shame about that. (assuming any of them have any shame)

But Milley and his "inform the Chicoms" of anything Trump does... that CANNOT be COUNTENANCED.

Hegspeth is sure to recall him and court martial him as a message to the rest of the combined Officer corps.

And thats what the folks that never put on a uniform in here don't get.

The General Officer corps is broken. Every last one of them should be dismissed for failure to perform because they ALL ordered their subordinates to take the clot shot.

It is SPECIFICALLY forbidden to force experimental drugs on the armed forces. The COMIRNATY vax was approved, but what was ACTUALLY forced on the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines was the pfizer BIONTECH concoction.

A bait and switch so to speak. AND EVERY OFFICER THAT PASSED THAT ILLEGAL ORDER TO TAKE THE SHOT SHOULD BE HANDED THEIR PAPERS.

We aren't the wermacht. Following orders is not an excuse.

EVERY SOLDIER HAS A DUTY TO NOT FOLLOW AN ILLEGAL ORDER.

And not a single GO protested or resigned.

They all ought to hang their heads in shame about that. (assuming any of them have any shame)

But Milley and his "inform the Chicoms" of anything Trump does... that CANNOT be COUNTENANCED.

Hegspeth is sure to recall him and court martial him as a message to the rest of the combined Officer corps. Originally Posted by texassapper

Good luck with that. But what does this anti vaccine screed have to do with the topic of the thread? Let’s try to stay on topic. Do you really think the Senate is going to vote to confirm this guy?

Good luck with that. But what does this anti vaccine screed have to do with the topic of the thread? Let’s try to stay on topic. Do you really think the Senate is going to vote to confirm this guy? Originally Posted by txdot-guy

The screed has to do with Why Hegspeth is a great pick. He will decimate (in the Roman sense) the GO... and they will deserve it.

Yes he will be confirmed. If not Thunes days are numbered.