Choosing Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth head the Ministry of DefensePresident-elect Donald Trump chose a military veteran and popular conservative media personality who has many supporters.

Hegseth, 44, developed a close relationship with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a position in his first administration. Hegseth pressured Trump to release military personnel accused of war crimes.

Here are a few things to know about Hegseth, born in Minneapolis and raised in Forest Lake:

He is a Fox News personality and author

A co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Hegseth has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He developed a friendship with Trump through the president-elect’s regular appearances on the show. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson complimented Hegseth’s military knowledge, saying his “insights and analysis, particularly on the military, resonated deeply with our viewers.”

He also wrote a number of books, including several for the network’s publishing house, including “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In announcing Hegseth’s appointment, Trump complimented the book, noting that it was “on the New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.”

He is a military veteran

Hegseth served in the military, although he lacked military or national security experience.

After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Guantanamo Bay.

He previously headed Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and also ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Senate in 2012. According to his Fox News biography, he is the incumbent. a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

As Trump was assembling his first Cabinet following his 2016 victory, he reportedly considered Hegseth to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. He considered Hegseth again when Secretary David Shulkin faced criticism before his ouster in 2018.

He defended soldiers accused of war crimes

In 2019, Hegseth urged Trump to pardon U.S. service members accused of war crimes. He has championed the military’s cases on his show and online, interviewing relatives on Fox News. He posted on social media that Trump’s pardons “would be incredible” and added hashtags with the defendants’ names to news reports mentioning his private lobbying of the then-president.

The effort was crowned with success, with Trump that year pardoning a former US army commando is to be tried for the murder of a suspected Afghan bomb maker, as well as a former army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to shoot three Afghans, in killing two. Trump also ordered a promotion for a decorated Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq.

He would arrive at the post during a series of global crises

Hegseth would lead the Pentagon as it faces burgeoning conflicts on multiple fronts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies, the push for a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah, and growing concerns about the growing alliance. between Russia and North Korea.

While the Pentagon is considered a key position in any administration, the position of defense secretary was tumultuous during Trump’s first term. Five men held the position during Trump’s four years.

Trump’s relationship with his civilian and military leaders during these years was fraught with tension, confusion and frustration, as they struggled to temper or even simply interpret presidential tweets and statements that blindsided them into policy decisions. abrupt ones that they were not prepared to explain or defend.

Many generals who served in his first administration — whether active duty or retired — called him unfit to serve in the Oval Office. He condemned them in return.

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Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.

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Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina.