Pete Hegseth

Extracted Attributes

• Religion

  Christian

• Education

  B.A. in Politics from Princeton University (2003); M.P.P. from Harvard University (2013)

• Full Name

  Peter Brian Hegseth

• Date of Birth

  1980-06-06

• Military Rank

  Major (Army National Guard)

• Notable Works

  American Crusade (2020), The War on Warriors (2024)

• Place of Birth

  Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

• Military Awards

  2 Bronze Star Medals, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Afghanistan Campaign Medal

• Current Position

  29th United States Secretary of Defense

Timeline

• Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Source: Wikidata)

  1980-06-06

• Graduated from Princeton University and commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2003-01-01

• Began service at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as part of the New Jersey Army National Guard. (Source: Web Search (Ballotpedia))

  2004-01-01

• Deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, serving as an infantry platoon leader and civil-military operations officer. (Source: Web Search (Ballotpedia))

  2006-01-01

• Deployed to Afghanistan as a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul. (Source: Web Search (Ballotpedia))

  2012-01-01

• Joined Fox News as a regular contributor. (Source: Web Search (Wikipedia))

  2014-06-01

• Became an official co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2017-01-01

• Nominated for Secretary of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-11-12

• Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaker. (Source: Web Search (CNN))

  2025-01-24

• Sworn in as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense. (Source: Web Search (CNN))

  2025-01-25

• Conducted a press briefing at the Pentagon regarding air dominance and the ongoing war with Iran. (Source: Web Search (AP News))

  2026-03-02

• Attended the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference in Doral, Florida. (Source: Web Search (AP News))

  2026-03-05

Pete Hegseth

Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American government official and former television personality who has served as the 29th United States secretary of defense since 2025. Hegseth studied politics at Princeton University, where he was the publisher of The Princeton Tory, a conservative student newspaper. In 2003, he was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard, serving at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth worked for several organizations after leaving Iraq, including as an executive director at Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. He became a contributor to Fox News in 2014. Hegseth served as an advisor to President Donald Trump after supporting his campaign in 2016. From 2017 to 2024, Hegseth co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend. He has written several books, including American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024). In November 2024, President-elect Trump named Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense. In a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing days before Trump's second inauguration, Hegseth faced allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and excessive drinking. Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate that month, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote. It was only the second time in US history that a Cabinet nominee's confirmation was decided by a vice president, following Betsy DeVos during the first Trump administration in 2017. Hegseth is the second-youngest secretary of defense after Donald Rumsfeld, who first occupied the position in the Ford administration. Hegseth has drawn criticism during his tenure as Secretary of Defense due to the fallout from a leaked government group chat on Signal as well as alleged war crimes related to U.S. military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea.

Web Search Results

• Pete Hegseth - Ballotpedia

  #### Sign up to receive Ballotpedia's daily newsletter Email \ First Name Please complete the Captcha above #### Ballotpedia on Facebook Share this page Follow Ballotpedia #### Ballotpedia on Twitter Share this page Follow Ballotpedia Ballotpedia Logo Ballotpedia Logo # Pete Hegseth | | | --- | | Pete Hegseth | | | Pete Hegseth by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg | | | Basic facts | | | Location: | Washington, D.C. | | Education: | •Princeton University (B.A., politics, 2003) • John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (M.A., public policy, 2013) | | Website: | Official website | Pete Hegseth by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg Pete Hegseth is the secretary of Defense, an author, a former contributor on Fox News, and a former officer of the National Guard. [...] The Senate confirmed Hegseth as secretary of defense on January 24, 2025, in a 51-50 vote with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Click here to read more about the confirmation process. Hegseth was born in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was raised in Forest Lake, Minnesota. According to Hegseth he was inspired to join the military due to a family tradition from his childhood of attending the Memorial Day parade in Wanamingo, Minnesota: “I felt like someday I would serve, someday I would give back to this country. I wanted to be willing to defend and fight for the freedoms that we cherish.” In 2003 Hegseth received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and later in 2013 a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. [...] Hegseth, a second lieutenant, served at Guantanamo Bay as a part of the New Jersey Army National Guard from 2004 to 2005. The following year, Hegseth, now a first lieutenant, was deployed with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division to Baghdad, Iraq, where he served as an infantry platoon leader. Toward the end of his tour, in 2006, he served as a civil-military operations officer in Samarra. Hegseth returned to active duty in 2012 as a captain. He was deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard and acted as a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul.He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge for his service overseas. In 2015, Hegseth became a major and began serving in the Individual Ready

• Pete Hegseth - Wikipedia

  By June 2014, Hegseth was given a position as a regular contributor to Fox News by the network's executive, Roger Ailes. In 2016, he was briefly a host on TheBlaze before regularly hosting Fox & Friends Weekend that year after Ailes's resignation, becoming an official co-host in January 2017. According to a Fox News executive in Hoax "Hoax (book)") (2020), Jennifer Rauchet, a producer of Fox & Friends Weekend who later married him, "was favoring Pete with airtime" and "kept putting Pete on TV." Hegseth served as a temporary host for Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle in an effort by the network to promote other staffers; the change occurred during the boycott of The Ingraham Angle after comments Ingraham made about David Hogg, an activist and survivor of the Parkland high school [...] Hogg, an activist and survivor of the Parkland high school shooting. He hosted All-American New Year (2018) with commentator Lisa Kennedy. [...] political activist to accompany Hegseth, according to The Washington Post. Hegseth moderated his comments the following day, stating that it would be possible for Ukraine to join NATO given Trump's discretion.

• Where Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Stands on Civil ...

  # Where Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Stands on Civil Liberties A photo of Pete Hegseth. A photo of Pete Hegseth. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated the Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense (DOD). If confirmed, the military veteran will lead the nation’s armed forces in what will be his first appointment to a political office. Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard and he served in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11. Prior to his stint as a talk show host on Fox News, he led the nonprofits Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.

• Pete Hegseth Fast Facts | CNN Politics

  ### CNN values your feedback # Pete Hegseth Fast Facts US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday, January 27, 2025. Here’s a look at the life of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. ## Personal Birth date: June 6, 1980 Birth place: Minneapolis, Minnesota Birth name: Peter Brian Hegseth Father: Brian Hegseth, basketball coach Mother: Penelope “Penny” Hegseth, career coach Marriages: Jennifer Rauchet (2019–present); Samantha Deering (2010-2018, divorced); Meredith Schwarz (2004-2009, divorced) Children:with Jennifer Rauchet: Gwendolyn, Kenzie, Jackson and Luke (Kenzie, Jackson and Luke are Jennifer’s children from a previous relationship); with Samantha Deering: Gunner, Peter Boone and Rex [...] November 29, 2024 - The New York Times reports Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, wrote Pete an email on April 30, 2018, accusing him of mistreating former wife Samantha Deering and other women. On the same day, Penelope Hegseth says in a phone interview with the New York Times that she regrets sending the email, arguing that her son is a changed man. January 14, 2025 - A Senate panel conducts a confirmation hearing for Hegseth. Hegseth is questioned about excessive drinking allegations, sexual assault accusations and his shifting public view on women in military combat. January 24, 2025 - In a 51-50 vote, the Senate confirms Hegseth to be the US defense secretary. Vice President JD Vance casts the tie-breaking vote. January 25, 2025 - Is sworn in as the 29th US secretary of defense. [...] Education: Princeton University, B.A., 2003; Harvard University, M.P.P., 2013 Military service: Army National Guard, 2002-2021, Major Religion: Christian ## Other Facts Has earned two Bronze Star Medals. Authored five books. After his stint at Vets for Freedom, Hegseth also led Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), another veteran advocacy nonprofit, for more than four years. Hegseth has a history of supporting controversial policies, including using the US military to put down domestic riots, speaking in favor of enhanced interrogation methods such as waterboarding, pardoning US soldiers convicted of war crimes, targeting cultural institutions in drone strikes and banning women from combat roles. ## Timeline

• Pete Hegseth | AP News

  AP Logo Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. AP Logo Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. # Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Konstantin Toropin) ### Hegseth’s comments are a reminder that government isn’t always eager to show the human cost to war Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla., Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) ### Pentagon’s break with Ivy League leaves colleges bracing for further changes to military programs [...] ### ‘They are toast and they know it:' Hegseth says Iran war is just beginning ### ‘We are just getting started,’ Hegseth says the US is winning against Iran ‘without mercy’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) ### Hegseth says US ‘can’t stop everything’ that Iran fires even as he asserts air dominance Healthcare workers unload from a vehicle the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) ### Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship sunk off its coast by a US submarine [...] ### On Iran, Trump officials say the US mission is ‘that simple.’ It depends who’s doing the talking ### Hegseth speaking at U.S. Central Command touts ‘total dominance’ in skies and seas Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is visiting MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and held meetings with Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command. ### Sri Lanka says 32 crew members were rescued, while 87 bodies recovered from Iranian ship sunk by US ### AP top stories March 4 ### Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship sunk off its coast by a US submarine ## More News Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla., Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

• Award

  Afghanistan Campaign Medal

• Image

  

• Gender

  male

• Educated At

  Princeton University

• Instance Of

  Q5

• Occupation

  writer

• Citizenship

  United States

• Date Of Birth

  6/6/1980

• Notable Work

  American Crusade

• Place Of Birth

  Minneapolis