President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed his complete support for Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of Defense, ahead of Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared “Pete Hegseth will make a GREAT Secretary of Defense.”
“He has my Complete and Total support. Good luck today, Pete!” he added.
Trump has been unwavering in supporting Hegseth since nominating him to lead the Department of Defense in November.
The incoming president spoke glowingly of Hegseth–a combat veteran, veteran advocate, and former Fox News host–during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona, in December.
Thank you for your vote of confidence Mr. President 🇺🇲 pic.twitter.com/mq5fxBxaCg
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 22, 2024
“You know, I’ve interviewed with him a lot on Fox, and all he ever wanted to talk about was the military,” Trump said.
“He’d talk about how unfairly our soldiers were treated,” he added.
Trump also highlighted the nominee is a Princeton University and Harvard University graduate.
“He’s a very vibrant, strong guy. I think he’s going to be great. He’s doing well, too,” Trump noted.
In his opening statement before the committee on Tuesday, Hegseth vowed to focus on “warfighters” as head of the DOD:
It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years. But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’ — whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives—and where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.
My only special interest is—the warfighter. Deterring wars, and if called upon, winning wars—by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. We let them win and then bring them home.
Hegseth said his three priorities for leading the department include restoring “the Warrior Ethos to the Pentagon,” rebuilding the military, and “re-establishing deterrence,” as Breitbart News Pentagon Correspondent Kristina Wong noted.
