President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense. In this photo, Hegseth speaks onstage during the 2023 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at The Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 16, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and a weekend host on Fox News’ morning show, as secretary of Defense.

Trump also announced on Wednesday afternoon he would nominate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of State and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence, as he rounds out his national security team.

The Hegseth pick, announced late Tuesday, immediately drew more scrutiny than some more conventional choices Trump announced for other Cabinet-level positions.

Outside of his time in the Army, Hegseth, 44, has no government experience. He was the CEO of the veterans’ advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America, according to a bio on his personal website. He served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his combat service.

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement from his transition team. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”

No women in combat

On Fox, in several books he’s written and in other public forums, Hegseth has been vocal about his socially conservative views.

He told a podcast host last week that “women should not serve in combat roles.”

“It hasn’t made us more effective, it hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast.

He’s also criticized the DoD’s work under Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“Unfortunately, the incentives for generals under the Biden administration and the Obama administration was to conform to ideologies of leftist politicians who were ramming stuff into the Pentagon that has nothing to do with winning wars,” he said during a Fox News appearance to promote a book on the military. “What is your gender? What is your race? DEI, (Critical Race Theory).”

Hegseth’s focus on culture war issues has won praise from some conservatives, including the influential think tank The Heritage Foundation.

“At a time when bloat and woke initiatives detract from the core warfighting mission of our armed forces, we need a secretary like Pete who has both served in combat and advocated for veterans on Capitol Hill. Under President Biden and Secretary (Lloyd) Austin, our military has grown weaker while foreign conflicts have increased. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth will make our military great again while continuing to put America First,” the foundation said in a statement.

Inexperience a factor?

But Democratic members of Congress voiced unease with the nomination, and even Republicans withheld full-throated endorsements.

Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on X that the Senate should give the nomination “the utmost scrutiny.”

“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position, and I question President-elect Trump’s choice of a television news host to take on this immensely important role,” Smith said. “While I respect and admire Mr. Hegseth’s military service, I am concerned about his inexperience given the security challenges we face around the world.”

Even Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican and close Trump ally, voiced skepticism over the pick, Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported.

“Really?  I’d have to think about it,” Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that will manage the confirmation process, reportedly said.

The ambivalence toward Hegseth stands out from Trump’s other early picks.

Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young sent a series of posts on X this week praising the selections of Rep. Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador, former Rep. Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Rep. Mike Waltz to be national security adviser, former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the ambassador to Israel.

He did not communicate on X his support of Hegseth.

Similarly, the official X account for the House Armed Services Committee, which is chaired by Alabama’s Mike Rogers, posted praise for Stefanik and Waltz on X, but did not comment on Hegseth.

Tattoos raised red flags

Hegseth grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota. He attended Princeton University as an undergraduate and received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.

He sought the 2012 Minnesota Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, but withdrew after the state convention backed the eventual nominee, Kurt Bills. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar easily defeated Bills in the general election.

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard until 2021, when he says he was taken off a detail to work Biden’s inauguration due to questions about a tattoo.

“Ultimately, members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have, which is a religious tattoo, it’s a Jerusalem Cross, everybody can look it up,” he said in the June appearance on Fox. “It was used as a premise to revoke my order to guard the inauguration.”

He speculated that there was another reason for his removal, possibly that he was a Trump supporter, Fox News host or a “patriot extremist.”

Hegseth has a chest tattoo depicting the Jerusalem Cross, a symbol of the crusaders that fought against Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages.

Broad support for Rubio

Trump’s selections of Rubio and Gabbard came Wednesday, although media reports for days had said Rubio would be named.

“Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” a statement from Trump read. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”

Cabinet designees from the Senate often have an easier path to confirmation through that chamber due to the personal connections they’ve established.

That appears likely to be the case with Rubio, who quickly secured votes of confidence from Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Mark Warner of Virginia.

Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress from Hawaii who sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, campaigned for Trump this year.

“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength,” Trump wrote. “Tulsi will make us all proud!”