By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has chosen as his defense secretary Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders, including its top brass. military officer.
Hegseth, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, could make good on Trump's campaign promises to eliminate U.S. military generals who are accused of pursuing progressive policies about racial diversity that they oppose.
It could also set the stage for a clash between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown, a former pilot with command experience in the Pacific and Middle East, whom Hegseth accused of “pursuing hard-line positions. of left-wing politicians.”
Trump, in announcing his decision, praised Hegseth, who is a veteran of the Army National Guard and according to his website served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Pete is strong, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are taking notice – Our Army Will Be Great Again, and America Will Not Back Down.”
Hegseth said he left the army in 2021 after being considered an extremist by the Army who no longer wanted him.
“The feeling was mutual – I no longer wanted this Army,” said Hegseth in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Free Us.”
There are already concerns in the Pentagon that Trump intends to eliminate military officers and civil servants he deems untrustworthy.
Culture war issues may be the cause of the firing.
Trump told Fox News in June that he would fire generals he described as “rebellious,” a term used by those focused on racial and social justice but used by conservatives to undermine progressive policies.
Hegseth can advocate for such a shot.
“The next president of the United States needs to overhaul the top leadership of the Pentagon to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. More people need to be fired,” he wrote in his letter.
Hegseth also focused on Brown, asking if he would have gotten the job if he wasn't black.
“Was it because of the color of his skin? Or his ability? We will never know, but we always doubt it – which on the face of it seems wrong for CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it is not ' Very important,” he wrote.
Former US generals and defense secretaries are among his harshest critics, with some saying he is unfit for office. Angered, Trump suggested that the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, could be executed for treason.
Hegseth also criticized Milley for failing to properly implement Trump's policies while in office and accused him of being “hands-on” to help Democrats.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler, Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.)
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