Trump nominates TV host as US Secretary of Defense

President-elect Donald Trump said on November 12 that he will nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth as US Secretary of Defense.

“With Pete Hegseth at the helm, America’s enemies should beware,” Trump said. “The American military will be great again, and America will never back down.”

President-elect Trump also described host Pete Hegseth as “tough, smart, and a true believer in America First.”

According to the AP news agency (USA), Pete Hegseth is also a former soldier. Mr. Hegseth was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2012, Mr. Hegseth ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Senate. He then joined Fox News.

Mr. Hegseth, 44, has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a graduate degree from Harvard. He is a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekends" and the author of "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free."

On the same day, November 12, Mr. Trump announced his decision to choose Republican Congressman Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as CIA director for his new administration starting January 20, 2025.

Mr. Trump also announced that he would create a new department called the “Department of Government Effectiveness,” aimed at promoting government efficiency during his second term.

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the department, whose main mission is to push for large-scale structural reforms and build a new, entrepreneurial approach that the US government has never seen before.