Peter Brian Hegseth was born on June 6, 1980, and is an American public servant and former television broadcaster who took office in 2025 as the 29th U.S. secretary of defense.
He pursued politics at Princeton University, where he ran The Princeton Tory, a conservative campus publication. Commissioned in 2003 as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and later deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Following his Iraq service, he led Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America, among other roles, and joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014. After backing Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, he advised the president, and from 2017 to 2024 he co-anchored Fox & Friends Weekend. His published works include American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024).
In November 2024, President-elect Trump selected him to lead the Defense Department. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing shortly before Trump's second inauguration, Hegseth confronted accusations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and heavy drinking. The Senate confirmed him that month only after Vice President JD Vance broke a tie—just the second time in U.S. history a vice president decided a Cabinet confirmation, after Betsy DeVos in 2017. Hegseth ranks as the second-youngest defense secretary, behind Donald Rumsfeld, who first held the post under Ford.
His tenure has attracted criticism over a leaked Signal group chat, alleged war crimes tied to U.S. strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, promotion of Christianity within the military, use of unmarked military aircraft for boat strikes, and rules of engagement during the 2026 Iran war.
He pursued politics at Princeton University, where he ran The Princeton Tory, a conservative campus publication. Commissioned in 2003 as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and later deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Following his Iraq service, he led Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America, among other roles, and joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014. After backing Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, he advised the president, and from 2017 to 2024 he co-anchored Fox & Friends Weekend. His published works include American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024).
In November 2024, President-elect Trump selected him to lead the Defense Department. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing shortly before Trump's second inauguration, Hegseth confronted accusations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and heavy drinking. The Senate confirmed him that month only after Vice President JD Vance broke a tie—just the second time in U.S. history a vice president decided a Cabinet confirmation, after Betsy DeVos in 2017. Hegseth ranks as the second-youngest defense secretary, behind Donald Rumsfeld, who first held the post under Ford.
His tenure has attracted criticism over a leaked Signal group chat, alleged war crimes tied to U.S. strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, promotion of Christianity within the military, use of unmarked military aircraft for boat strikes, and rules of engagement during the 2026 Iran war.
