Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
Peter Brian Hegseth was born in June 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton University, where he joined the ROTC. He later earned an M.P.P. from Harvard University. He worked in capital market analysis and served in the Minnesota National Guard.
Hegseth was deployed to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as an infantry platoon leader. He later deployed to Iraq. He returned to active duty six years later as a captain and deployed to Afghanistan. He became a major and then was assigned to the Army Individual Ready Reserve. He later served in the District of Columbia Army National Guard. He separated from the guard in March 2021.
Hegseth advocated for American veterans with two organizations between deployments. He also formed a political action committee in Minnesota. He ran for a U.S. Senate seat but ultimately withdrew from the race before the primary. Hegseth became a contributor on Fox News.
President Trump nominated Hegseth to be his Secretary of Defense in November 2024. After his approval by the Senate, he was sworn into office in January 2025.
He is married to Jennifer, with whom he has a daughter and three step-children. He is divorced from Meredith; and divorced from Samantha, with whom he has three sons. He is now a Christian.
In the News…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved up to 600 military attorneys to assist the Justice Department as temporary immigration judges as immigration courts face a backlog of approximately 3.5 million cases. The move was in response to a request from the Justice Department.
The action is intended to last less than six months, but could be renewed. The defense secretary said it was the responsibility of the Justice Department to ensure the personnel provided by the Pentagon do not violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from being used as domestic law enforcement.
A White House official said that President Trump’s administration is looking at various options to relieve the backlog of immigration cases, including potentially hiring more immigration judges. The official said the issue should be “a priority that everyone — including those waiting for adjudication — can rally around.”
