Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth
29th United States Secretary of War From: January 25, 2025
President	Donald Trump
Predecessor	Lloyd Austin
Successor	Incumbent (no successor)
Information
Party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Rauchet
Religion	Evangelical

Peter Brian Hegseth (b. June 6, 1980) is the 2025 United States Secretary of War.

Hegseth's books: “Battle for the American Mind” (June, 2022) – spent over twelve weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including four straight weeks at #1. Two of Pete’s previous books – “American Crusade” and “Modern Warriors” – were also best-sellers.

In 2016, Trump considered Hegseth for VA Secretary. Hagseth said regarding the Pentagon, "First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs...Any general, any admiral, whatever, who was involved in diversity, equity and inclusion programs or woke sh*t has got to go."

Hegseth was a television host, on Fox News.

Secretary of Defense

Feb 12, 2025 Brussels speech

In a speech to NATO representatives in Brussels, Belgium on February 12, 2025, shortly after taking office, Hegseth said,

“

We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering. A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again. This must not be Minsk 3.0. That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. [...] The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must – and we are – focusing on security of our own borders. We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing tradeoffs to ensure deterrence does not fail. Deterrence cannot fail, for all of our sakes. As the United States prioritizes its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front. Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific respectively.

”

In late September 2025 as international tensions escalated, Hegseth summoned all active duty generals and admirals to an urgent meeting in Quantico, Virginia for an undisclosed meeting. Speculation abounded the purpose of the meeting. Many of the high-ranking officers were contact with each other to find out why Hegseth has ordered such an unprecedented gathering that will upend the schedules of hundreds of them. A consensus emerged that the order for all top military officers to meet in one place was for critical domestic reasons, as they would not be put in one place to plan war on a foreign country where they could wiped out with a single missile strike.

Views

Hegseth rightfully criticized Turkey's membership of NATO, saying Turkish Islamist president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "openly dreams of restoring the Ottoman empire" and is "an Islamist with Islamist visions for the Middle East.

Hegseth believes, NATO should be 'scrapped' and remade.

From a written testimony, submitted to Congress ahead of (Jan/2025) confirmation vote:

• China: The potential seizure of Taiwan, a "fait accompli," should motivate U.S. military modernization. Guam is a linchpin for Indo-Pacific success. Collaborating with Japan will pay deterrence dividends.

• Russia: Despite sanctions and other constraints, its war machine still packs a punch. Moscow's digital subterfuge and Arctic ambitions "are particularly acute." The invasion of Ukraine is "settling into a war of attrition."

• Iran: The regime, which props up violent proxies, creeps closer to nuclear weapons. Its missile and drone arsenal demands countermeasures. The U.S. should help Israel defend itself.

• North Korea: An "intense focus" on missile development, hacking gains and nuclear arms is concerning. Its "space capabilities" must be monitored. Missile defense needs beefing up closer to home.

• Nukes: A triad is a necessity. Full stop. And full steam ahead on the Sentinel nuclear missile, B-21 Raider and the Columbia-class submarine. Partnering with the National Nuclear Security Administration is of highest priority. NNSA labs, plants and sites want for dramatic renovations.

• Doing business: The Pentagon is thinking too narrowly; it should look beyond Cold War suppliers. Places like the Office of Strategic Capital and Defense Innovation Unit are oases. Delayed, over-budget projects require a "thorough review."

• Army upgrades: Wars abroad underline the value of cyber, autonomy and precision fires.

Netanyahu with Pete Hegseth.2.5.25

At the Reagan National Defense Forum in December 2025 Hegseth outline Trump 2.0 administration foreign policy:

“

The War Department will not be distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation-building...We will instead put our nation's practical, concrete interests first...Out with idealistic utopianism...In with hard-nosed realism.

”

Personal background

Hegseth served in the US Army and did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is Princeton and Harvard educated. He has been married three times: during his second marriage he reportedly engaged in an affair by which he had a child with his future third wife.

External links

• Petehegseth.com - official page
• Hegseth on X, formerly Twitter