Trump nominates Army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defence secretary

On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had nominated Pete Hegseth, a veteran of the Army and host of Fox News, to be his defense secretary. Prior to joining Fox News, Mr. Hegseth served in Iraq and Afghanistan and made an unsuccessful 2012 Senate run in Minnesota.

In a statement, Mr. Trump declared, “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.” “Pete will be a brave and patriotic defender of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy, and no one fights harder for the Troops.” Mr. Trump also appointed his Cabinet secretary from his first administration, Bill McGinley, as his White House counsel in a rush of announcements.

Additionally, Mr. Trump declared that Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian American businessman, and Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, would head the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In contrast to his first transition after winning the presidency in 2016, Mr. Trump is moving more quickly and with less drama as he appoints and nominates people for his next government.