Administration
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense, sworn in on January 25, 2025, as the 29th person to hold the office. He is a Princeton University graduate and a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard.
Background
Biography
Pete Hegseth graduated from Princeton University in 2003 and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard on completing its ROTC program. His deployments included Guantanamo Bay, where he was an infantry platoon leader; Iraq, where he was an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad and Samarra with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division; and Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard as part of a NATO training mission. He also held staff positions in state National Guard units. He has written five books, including The War on Warriors, published in 2024.
Before entering government he was a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend on the Fox News Channel.
Hegseth was sworn in on January 25, 2025, as the 29th secretary of defense. His department biography says the department’s name was changed on September 5, 2025, and now gives his title as secretary of war.
Voting record
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The Baseline desk
Published claim checks
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Recent coverage
What is being reported
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