Who is Pete Hegseth? The Fox News anchor turned nominee for defense secretary

Pete Hegseth has been nominated for secretary of defense under President-elect Donald Trump – but who is the relative unknown to the DC sphere?

Hegseth’s most recent role was as a host on the Fox & Friends morning show. That is where most of America knows him from, but he is also an author, husband and dad and even found viral fame – though it landed him in legal hot water.

Hegseth is also a military veteran, earning the rank of major in the Army while serving in the Minnesota National Guard. He served in both the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan. He earned numerous medals. After he left the military, he served as executive director of the political groups Vets for Freedom and Concerned Vets for America, while he made appearances on TV as a political commentator.

Now, he could take the reins of one of the most important jobs in the government and oversee the US military. His appointment still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, and some have vowed to fight it.

Hegseth’s nomination is in jeopardy following an allegation of sexual assault from 2017, which he denies. The allegation was reported to have taken Trump’s transition team by surprise when it emerged last week.

Here is everything you need to know about the life and background of Hegseth:

open image in gallery

Trump’s team likely have a fight on their hands to get Hegseth confirmed in the Senate. Previously unreported details accusing him of sexual assault in Monterey, California in 2017 have come to light in a newly-released police report.

The woman at the center of the allegation told police that Hegseth physically blocked the door to stop her from leaving his hotel room and took her phone away, before sexually assaulting her, according to the police report, seen by The Independent.

The woman, referred to throughout the 22-page report as Jane Doe, also told police she remembered saying “‘no’ a lot” to Hegseth during the alleged assault which took place after a Republican women’s conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Monterey, California, on October 8, 2017.

Hegseth has maintained that the encounter was consensual and, in the police report, he stated “there was ‘always’ conversation and ‘always’ consensual contact” between the two of them.

His lawyer said Hegseth paid the woman in 2023 to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. No charges were brought against Hegseth.

Trump is standing by Hegseth, his team confirmed. “This report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Independent.

“Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected combat veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next secretary of defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform,” Leavitt added.

The report does not say that police found the allegations were false.

Before the new details became public, a report earlier this week said that some of Trump’s transition team was “upset”  because Hegseth “hasn’t been honest” about the allegation – prompting insiders to consider other options to lead the Pentagon. Those in the president-elect’s inner circle are “quietly preparing a list of alternative” candidates, Vanity Fair reported.

Along with a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, Hegseth received a Master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government.

He worked at the ill-fated investment bank Bear Stearns after college before leaving to serve in the military. Hegseth was deployed with the Minnesota army national guard as an infantry platoon leader to Iraq and as a captain to Afghanistan. He earned two bronze stars, two army commendation medals, and a combat infantryman’s badge throughout his decade-long military career.

Hegseth has since continued to open up about his time in the army, as he even wrote a letter to his sons about one day serving in the military if they choose, which was featured in his book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.

“Even with those questions — and even with all the uncertainty — I hope you join the ranks of American fighting men. I encourage you to serve, asking yourself this simple question: If not me, then who? If not Gunner, Jackson, Boone, Luke or Rex Hegseth — who is going to protect America?” he wrote in the letter. “Are you going to rely on other men, or on women, who have other world views, to fill the ranks? Just because our military is far from perfect, can we afford to lose her? My answer is no.”

Hegseth joined Fox in 2014 after being hired as a contributor by network boss Roger Ailes. Along with co-hosting Fox & Friends, Hegseth co-hosted Fox’s New Year’s Eve special All-American New Year with political commentator Lisa Kennedy Montgomery. He’s hosted multiple programs on FOX Nation, including Battle in the Holy Land, which is centered on the war between Israel and Gaza.

open image in gallery

During his time on the air, Hegseth has shared his candid thoughts about American policies, with claims that the US is spending too much supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia. He has also been an outspoken advocate for Israel. During an interview with The Jewish Press in 2016, he suggested both Israel’s founding as a nation-state and the US revolution against Great Britain represent “the story of God’s chosen people.”

He’s also written several books for Fox’s publishing company, including The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, which is centered on his time in the army. He also shared his candid thoughts about the country’s school system in Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation, and featured a collection of stories from veterans in Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes.

During a Fox & Friends segment in 2015, Hegseth participated in an axe-throwing event gone wrong. In videos shared on social media, he could be seen throwing an axe at a giant red target. However, he ultimately missed the mark, since the axe ended up flying over target, before it hit a drummer in West Point’s Hellcats field band, Jeffrey Prosperie, in the arm. Prosperie was hit in the middle of his performance, as his musical group had been invited to the show to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the US Army.

Although Prosperie filed a lawsuit against Hegseth after the incident, it was discontinued in 2019. “The parties have resolved the matter and will make no further comment,” Prosperie’s attorney, Brandon Cotter, told the Associated Press.

The fellow veteran has continued to share his thoughts about the military and women’s roles in it. During an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show last week, he claimed that that women should not be “in combat roles.”

“It hasn’t made us more effective... it hasn’t made us more lethal, it has made fighting more complicated,” he continued.

However, Hegseth clarified that his remarks were about women who had “physical, labor-intensive” roles in the military, where “strength is a differentiator.”

He also said: “As the disclaimer for everybody out there, we’ve all served with women and they’re great. It’s just our institutions don’t have to incentivize that in places where traditionally... not traditionally, over human history... men in those positions are more capable.”

Hegseth has been married to television producer Jennifer Rauchet since 2019. They got married at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey. The pair welcomed a daughter, Gwen, in 2017. Rauchet also has three children from her previous marriage.

The Fox News star was married twice before that, splitting from his first wife, Meredith Schwarz, in 2009, and divorcing his second wife, Samantha Deering, in 2017. Deering and Hegseth welcomed three children before their split.

open image in gallery

Last year, he told the Nashville Christian Family that they “are a family brought together by the grace of God. There are no ‘steps’ or ‘halves’ in the Hegseth clan.”

However, Hegeth’s relationship with Rauchet, who was a producer on Fox’s morning show, reportedly started while he was still married. In an interview for journalist Brian Stelter’s 2020 book Hoax, an executive confirmed the affair and said Rauchet showed favoritism toward Hegseth. “She kept putting Pete on TV,” the executive said.

The pair reportedly told Fox about their relationship, and Rauchet was moved to a different show on the network.

Aside from big moments in his career, Hegseth has also shared one of his favorite activities in his downtime: watching football. In December 2023, he shared a photo on Facebook of himself watching a Minnesota Vikings game in a bar, as he was holding his thumbs up. He was also wearing a purple jersey and matching cap.

Last month, he and his wife brought their seven children to see the University of Tennessee’s football team, The Tennessee Volunteers, play at Neyland Stadium. He commemorated the moment on Instagram, sharing one photo of his children on the field and another of him and his partner in the stands.

“Tough to top ‘Rocky Top’ last weekend. Big W over ‘Bama…kids stormed the field…hiking the Smokies. Truly GOD’S COUNTRY. Huge thanks to new friends (Jani, Joy, Brad, David & co) who make it possible,” he wrote in the caption.