Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Pete Hegseth
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Pete Hegseth made an impact.
Peter Brian Hegseth is an American government official and former television personality. Since 2025, he has served as the 29th United States Secretary of Defense.
2003: Commissioned as Second Lieutenant
In 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army after graduating from Princeton.
2003: Commissioned as Infantry Officer
In 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard.
2004: Basic Training and Guantanamo Bay
In 2004, Hegseth completed basic training at Fort Benning and served as a Minnesota Army National Guardsman at Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 11 months, leading a platoon guarding detainees.
August 2006: Joined Manhattan Institute
By August 2006, Hegseth moved to Manhattan and began working at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
August 2006: Criticism of Operation Iron Triangle
In August 2006, Pete Hegseth opposed Operation Iron Triangle, a raid that resulted in the death of three Iraqi men, which he described as "atrocities" at the University of Virginia.
May 2007: Appeared at McCain Fundraiser
In May 2007, Hegseth appeared at a presidential campaign fundraiser for John McCain.
October 2008: Yale Political Union Speech on Homosexuality in the Military
In October 2008, Pete Hegseth disagreed with "Don't ask, don't tell", the United States's position on homosexuality in the military at the time, but noted that "Radical Islam is a far greater threat."
2008: Supported McCain
In 2008, Hegseth's organization, Vets for Freedom, began supporting John McCain in the presidential election.
November 2009: Support for Additional Forces in Afghanistan
In November 2009, Pete Hegseth supported sending additional forces into Afghanistan during the War in Afghanistan. He advocated for withdrawing from Afghanistan in his interview with the National Review, but argued that special operators should remain in the country and that the Afghan Army should be supported to avert a conflict.
2010: Deployed to Afghanistan
In 2010, Hegseth deployed with the Minnesota Army National Guard as a counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul, Afghanistan.
2011: Removed from Vets for Freedom
By 2011, Hegseth was removed from leadership after Vets for Freedom merged with Military Families United.
February 2012: Entered Senate Primary
In February 2012, Hegseth decided to enter the Republican primary for the United States Senate election in Minnesota.
March 2012: Hegseth Advocates for Premium Support in Medicare
In a March 2012 interview with National Review, Hegseth advocated for premium support in Medicare, opposed contraception mandates, and described the Keystone Pipeline as a choice between jobs and environmental impact.
June 2014: Fox News Contributor
By June 2014, Hegseth was given a position as a regular contributor to Fox News.
2014: Became Fox News Contributor
In 2014, Hegseth became a contributor to Fox News.
2014: Criticism of Obama
In 2014, Hegseth's group, Concerned Veterans of America, criticized President Obama for the Veterans Health Administration controversy.
2014: Promoted to Major
In 2014, after completing his tour, Hegseth was promoted to major and assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve.
2016: Hegseth Criticizes Hillary Clinton's Email Controversy
In 2016 on Fox News, Hegseth criticized Hillary Clinton for her email controversy, stating that her "recklessness in handling information" would usually lead to job firings and potential criminal charges, while also risking foreign access to sensitive information and harming relationships with allies.
2016: Advisor to Donald Trump
In 2016, Hegseth served as an advisor to President Donald Trump after supporting his campaign.
2016: Publication of Memoir
In 2016, Pete Hegseth published his memoir, In the Arena: Good Citizens, a Great Republic, and How One Speech Can Reinvigorate America.
2016: Host on TheBlaze
In 2016, he was briefly a host on TheBlaze before regularly hosting Fox & Friends Weekend after Ailes's resignation.
January 2017: Official Co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend
In January 2017, Hegseth became an official co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.
2017: Co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend
From 2017 to 2024, Hegseth co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend.
2017: Foreword to "The Case Against the Establishment"
In 2017, Pete Hegseth wrote the foreword to The Case Against the Establishment, a book written by Nick Adams and Dave Erickson.
March 2018: Potential Candidate for Secretary of Veterans Affairs
After Shulkin fell out of favor with the Trump administration in March 2018, Hegseth positioned himself as a potential candidate for secretary of veterans affairs.
2018: Hosted All-American New Year
Hegseth hosted All-American New Year (2018) with commentator Lisa Kennedy.
March 2019: Support for Benjamin Netanyahu
In March 2019, Pete Hegseth posted a video describing Benjamin Netanyahu as a "great friend to the United States" after Netanyahu was expected to be criminally charged for alleged bribery and fraud.
June 2019: Joined DC Army National Guard
In June 2019, Hegseth joined the District of Columbia Army National Guard as a drilling service member.
2019: Hegseth Describes Climate Change as Attempt at Government Control
In 2019 on Fox & Friends, Hegseth described climate change as an attempt at government control.
2019: Hosted Battle in Bethlehem
In 2019, Hegseth hosted the special Battle in Bethlehem on Fox Nation.
January 2020: Support for Trump's Threat on Iranian Cultural Sites
In January 2020, Pete Hegseth supported Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iranian cultural sites.
May 2020: Claims about the Chinese Government
In May 2020, Pete Hegseth claimed that the "communist Chinese" want to "end our civilization". He also argued that the Chinese government is "building a military to defeat the United States" and repeated claims by Trump that "tens of thousands of Chinese nationals" have been sent to the Mexico–United States border.
May 2020: Release of "American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free"
In May 2020, Pete Hegseth released American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free.
2020: Hegseth Defends Trump's Policies
In 2020, Hegseth defended Trump's policies in his first term, including his interactions with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
2020: Authored "American Crusade"
In 2020, Hegseth wrote the book "American Crusade".
2021: Hegseth Defends Trump's Policies
In 2021, Hegseth defended Trump's policies in his first term, including the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
2022: Hosted "The Miseducation of America"
In 2022, Hegseth began hosting "The Miseducation of America" on Fox Nation, criticizing "the Left's educational agenda".
2022: Co-authorship of "Battle for the American Mind"
In 2022, Pete Hegseth co-authored Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation with David Goodwin.
2023: Hosted Shows on Fox Nation
By 2023, Hegseth had also hosted the series Battle in the Holy Land (2019–2023) and The Life of Jesus (2022–2023) on Fox Nation.
January 2024: Resigned from Individual Ready Reserve
In January 2024, Hegseth resigned from the Individual Ready Reserve, citing the "insider threat" incident in his book "The War on Warriors".
June 2024: Publication of "The War on Warriors"
In June 2024, Pete Hegseth published The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.
November 12, 2024: Trump nominates Hegseth for Secretary of Defense
On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense after Tom Cotton declined the position. Hegseth subsequently ended his contract with Fox News. The selection of Hegseth was seen as Trump appointing a loyalist with a relative lack of experience.
November 2024: Comments on Women in Combat Roles
In November 2024, Pete Hegseth stated that women should not serve in combat roles during a podcast interview with Shawn Ryan.
November 2024: Nominated and Confirmed as Secretary of Defense
In November 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense. Despite facing allegations during his Senate Committee hearing, Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate that month with a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President JD Vance.
2024: Authored "The War on Warriors"
In 2024, Hegseth wrote the book "The War on Warriors".
2024: Concerns over Tattoos
In 2024, Pete Hegseth said that concerns over his Jerusalem cross tattoo caused the District of Columbia National Guard to pull him from a mission to guard the inauguration of President Joe Biden and helped spur him to retire from the military.
March 2025: Hegseth Cancels Climate Change Studies
In March 2025, Hegseth canceled climate change studies and decried the phenomenon as "crap" on social media. That month, he sought to eliminate climate planning from the Department of Defense but included an exception for extreme weather preparation.
August 2025: Sharing a Video Featuring Douglas Wilson
In August 2025, Pete Hegseth favorably shared a video from CNN featuring Douglas Wilson, commenting on its content regarding women's roles and rights.
November 2025: Hegseth Proposes Eliminating Promotion for Eagle Scouts
In November 2025, Hegseth proposed eliminating promotion for Eagle Scouts joining the Army, citing a lack of "masculine values" and "promoting gender confusion." He also threatened to cut Department of Defense support to Scouting America, banning military bases from hosting or sponsoring scout units, claiming the organization was attacking "boy-friendly" spaces by allowing girls to join in 2018. Military families criticized this, fearing harm to military dependent children and the military itself.
2025: Appointed Secretary of Defense
In 2025, Hegseth began serving as the 29th United States Secretary of Defense.
January 2026: Claude AI Used in Operation to Capture Nicolas Maduro
In January 2026, Claude AI was used by the Pentagon during their operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.
January 2026: Hegseth Asked About Unmarked Military Plane
In January 2026, Sec. Hegseth was questioned about a U.S. military plane that attacked a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. The plane, unmarked and carrying armaments inside, violated Defense Department policy. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson neither confirmed nor denied the reports, citing mission requirements.
February 2026: Hegseth Threatens Anthropic Over AI Restrictions
In February 2026, Defense Secretary Hegseth threatened Anthropic, the owner of Claude AI, to designate the company a supply chain risk and force them to eliminate restrictions on their AI use by the Defense Department, or he would use the Defense Production Act to compel them. The contract was worth $200 million. The Defense Department also stated that Grok, OpenAI, and Google were close to being approved for use.
February 2026: Hegseth Eliminates Military Training at Harvard
In February 2026, Sec. Hegseth announced the Defense Department would eliminate all graduate-level professional military training, fellowships, and certificate programs at Harvard University starting in the fall of 2026 due to the institution's "anti-military bias." The DoD also said it would investigate other universities.
February 27, 2026: Scouting America Responds to Criticism
On February 27, 2026, Scouting America announced they would immediately drop the Citizenship in the Society merit badge, create a military service merit badge, waive registration fees for dependent children of active-duty military, National Guard, and reserve families, and only use the designations male and female on applications.
March 2, 2026: Pentagon Releases List of Partner Institutions
On March 2, 2026, the Pentagon released a list of 20 partner institutions that Hegseth said exemplified "intellectual freedom". The list included mainly public and a few private universities in Republican leaning states, such as The Citadel, Iowa State University, Clemson University, University of Florida, Auburn University, Baylor University and Liberty University.
March 4, 2026: Pentagon "Investigating" Deadly Airstrike in Iran
On March 4, 2026, Hegseth stated that the Pentagon was "investigating" reports of a deadly airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, Iran, while maintaining that the U.S. military "never targets civilian sites." Evidence indicated that it was the U.S. which most likely bombed the school.
March 6, 2026: Anthropic to Challenge DoD in Court
On March 6, 2026, Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei stated that his company would challenge the DoD in court after Sec. Hegseth used the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk on February 27, 2026. Anthropic's partners, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, stated their agreement with Amodei.
March 8, 2026: OpenAI Head of Robotics Resigns
On March 8, 2026, OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT) announced that their head of robotics, Caitlin Kalinowski, had resigned, stating, "surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got."
March 10, 2026: Hegseth Accuses Iran of Endangering Civilians
On March 10, 2026, Hegseth accused Iran of firing missiles from schools and hospitals and endangering civilians. He also said that Iran is "badly losing" on day 10 of the war.
March 2026: Harvard Allows Deferment for Active-Duty Military
In March 2026, Harvard University announced that it would allow active-duty military to defer their admission to the university for up to four years. Students can normally only defer for one year.
March 2026: Hegseth at a Press Conference in March 2026
In March 2026, Hegseth held a press conference.
March 2026: Military Leaders Claim War Against Iran is "Part of God's Divine Plan"
In March 2026, military leaders reportedly told service members that the war against Iran, also known as Operation Epic Fury, was part of "God's divine plan" and that President Donald Trump was anointed by Jesus. A commander even quoted the Book of Revelation, saying the war would bring the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation received over 200 complaints, citing violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and reflecting Secretary Hegseth's leadership.
April 2, 2026: Hegseth Allows Personal Firearms on Military Installations
On April 2, 2026, Secretary Hegseth signed a memo allowing military personnel to carry personal firearms on military installations, citing self-defense and Second Amendment rights. While supporters applauded the policy, others expressed concern about its practicality and impact on emergency responses.
May 2026: Defense Department Announces AI Use Deals
In May 2026, the Defense Department announced AI use deals with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.
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