U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has picked as his Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The 44-year-old NATO-sceptic is perhaps Trump’s most surprising pick as he fills out his cabinet ahead of the January 20 inauguration.
Trump, announcing his decision, praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and according to his website served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
Pete is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University, according to the statement.
While Hegseth has articulated only limited policy positions in the past, he has railed against NATO allies for being weak and said that China is on the verge of dominating its neighbours.
Hegseth has been sharply critical of America’s European allies and his selection could fuel even greater anxiety in NATO about what a Trump administration will mean for the alliance.
“Outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent. Why should America, the European ’emergency contact number’ for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honour outdated and one-sided defence arrangements they no longer live up to?” Hegseth wrote in his book.
In appearances on podcasts and television he has said China is building a military “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”
“They have a full spectrum long-term view of not just regional but global domination and we are we have our heads up our asses,” Hegseth said on a podcast last week.
Hegseth has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.
Hegseth, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to rid the U.S. military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
