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 gave an update on the Strait of Hormuz and President Trump’s Project Freedom before the president announced a pause. The secretary stressed that the ceasefire is still in place and that Project Freedom is “defensive in nature, focused in scope, and temporary in duration.”
Secretary Hegseth that Iran “cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway. Iran is the clear aggressor. Harassing civilian vessels, threatening mariners from every nation and weaponizing a critical choke point.“
“America is using its strength to lift up others. Iran is trying to subjugate the world,” Secretary Hegseth explained. “To what remains of Iran’s forces, if you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower. The president has been very clear about this. We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircrafts, and this mission without hesitation.”
