Meet Pete Hegseth: The 'recovering neocon' and Pentagon critic who's been tapped for Defense secretary

President-elect Donald Trump sent daze waves done the nationalist information constitution erstwhile helium nominated Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary.

The plain-speaking erstwhile Army National Guard officer would acceptable himself isolated from different Defense secretaries with his prolific grounds of disapproval of the instauration helium has been tapped to run. A civilization warrior, on-air commentator and author, the insubstantial way of his publically shared views volition beryllium connected afloat show successful his confirmation hearing.  

"I’ve been a recovering neocon for six years now," Hegseth, a erstwhile Fox News host, told the "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast. 

He said helium was a immense proponent of the Iraq War "at the time," but "in retrospect, perfectly not."

"The hubris of the Pentagon is they privation to present archer different countries however to bash counterinsurgency based connected what we did successful Iraq and Afghanistan. The spot that our governmental leaders and our generals would person our champion interests successful caput is wholly broken," helium explained. "At the aforesaid time. I’m fearful of what happens erstwhile the instauration gets abandoned."

TRUMP NOMINATES PETE HEGSETH TO SERVE AS DEFENSE SECRETARY

Host Pete Hegseth speaks during "Fox & Friends" astatine Fox News Channel Studios connected May 27, 2022 successful New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

In a past life, Hegseth ran Vets for Freedom, a pro-Iraq War advocacy group. He past pivoted and became CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a restraint-minded advocacy radical that was heavy focused connected reforming the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. 

He has not served immoderate senior-level enactment roles astatine the Defense Department – leaving immoderate hawks skeptical that helium has the acquisition to pb the U.S.'s largest authorities bureau and a warring unit of much than 1.3 cardinal progressive work troops. 

"He is the slightest well-prepared caput to beryllium nominated," said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and a elder advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based deliberation tank. 

"He has superb subject credentials arsenic a inferior officer, fantabulous world credentials successful Harvard, but helium has nary eye-level nationalist information experience. He has nary acquisition moving a ample organization, nary acquisition moving with Congress, and I mean, a bully but precise abbreviated narration with the president."

Prior to his existent role, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was caput of U.S. Central Command, vice main of unit of the Army and commandant of the U.S. forces successful Iraq. After retiring from the equipped services, helium joined the committee of Raytheon. 

Hegseth, a 44-year-old infantry serviceman successful the Minnesota National Guard, served arsenic the platoon person astatine Guantanamo Bay. He besides led a platoon successful Baghdad and aboriginal served arsenic a civil-military operations serviceman successful Samarra. 

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"Something that a batch of radical volition constituent to arsenic a weakness is he's young," said Steve Bucci, erstwhile lawman adjunct caput of Defense during the George W. Bush administration. "He did service precise efficaciously arsenic a inferior serviceman and a combat leader, but you know, helium hasn't been portion of the institutionalized process going up to beryllium wide serviceman and each the unit positions successful between." 

Pete Hegseth said helium was a immense proponent of the Iraq War "at the time," but "in retrospect, perfectly not."

"That volition escaped him to deliberation extracurricular the box," Bucci mused. "Austin, a four-star, frankly, was not known for caller ideas." 

"It’ll thrust a batch of radical crazy." 

Hegseth has made it wide helium volition enactment to combat "woke" programs successful the Pentagon that beforehand diversity, equity and inclusion. He has besides spoken retired against women successful combat roles. 

"I’m consecutive up conscionable saying that we should not person women successful combat roles," Hegseth said connected the "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast. "It hasn’t made america much effective, hasn’t made america much lethal, has made warring much complicated."

Additionally, successful 2019, helium successfully lobbied Trump to pardon 3 work members convicted oregon accused of warfare crimes successful Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Trump whitethorn person looked up to sparing himself the headache this relation caused him during his archetypal medication – lone Jim Mattis and Mark Esper lasted much than a year, 3 others served successful an acting capacity. 

Hegseth has besides called for the firing of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown. Brown has go a people of conservatives who assertion helium advances a "woke" agenda, and Hegseth has suggested Brown, who is Black, is simply a DEI hire. 

"That would beryllium a immense problem," Cancian predicted. "He's got a precise beardown subject grounds and, you know, it would enactment [Hegseth] astatine warfare with the military."

Democrats are expected to hammer him for deficiency of acquisition and his inheritance arsenic a co-host of "Fox and Friends."

Prior to his existent role, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was caput of U.S. Central Command, vice main of unit of the Army and commandant of the U.S. forces successful Iraq. (Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)

"Hegseth is not remotely qualified to beryllium Secretary of Defense," Rep. Jason Crow, a national-security-minded Colorado Democrat wrote connected X. "The SecDef makes life-and-death decisions regular that interaction our 2 cardinal troops astir the globe. This is not an entry-level occupation for a TV commentator."

They besides whitethorn bring up resurfaced intersexual battle allegations helium faced successful 2017. Monterey, California, officials released a nationalist connection Thursday astir a 2017 constabulary probe into whether Hegseth acted inappropriately. Trump's incoming main of staff, Susie Wiles, and Trump's lawyers brought the accusation up during the vetting process, according to Vanity Fair.

Hegseth would apt beryllium the first-ever Defense caput nominee antecedently barred from a statesmanlike inauguration. Hegseth told Ryan helium volunteered successful his National Guard capableness to enactment at President Biden's inauguration successful 2020. However, helium said helium was 1 of a fig of National Guard members told to "stand down." 

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"I was deemed an extremist due to the fact that of a tattoo by my National Guard portion successful Washington D.C. and my orders were revoked to defender the Biden inauguration."

"My commandant called maine a time before, tepidly, and was like, Major, you tin conscionable basal down. We don't request you, we're good. I'm like, what bash you mean? Everybody's there. He said like, no, nary ,no…he couldn't archer me."

Hegseth said the tattoo is simply a Jerusalem transverse alternatively than an extremist symbol. It was a fashionable awesome utilized during the Crusades. 

"Twenty years successful the subject I loved, I fought for, I revered … spit maine out," Hegseth wrote successful his publication of the incident.