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 announced that the Defense Department no longer supports the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement, in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the DEI offices in the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security.
The new secretary said there would be “no exceptions, name-changes or delays,” and that “those who do not comply will no longer work here.”
President Trump said, “I ordered the end to all of the lawless diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense policies across the government and all across the private sector and the military.“
Concerning the president’s declaration of a national emergency on border security and immigration, Secretary Hegseth said, “Whatever is needed at the border will be provided.“
