What to Know About Pete Hegseth, Trump's Pick to Serve as Defense Secretary

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

78% : He posted on social media that pardons from Trump "would be amazing," and added hashtags with the names of those accused to reporting mentioning his private lobbying of the then-president.
71% : In announcing Hegseth's nomination, Trump complimented that book, noting its "nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.
62% : He developed a friendship with Trump through the president-elect's regular appearances on the show.
55% : As Trump formulated his first Cabinet following his 2016 win, he reportedly considered Hegseth to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
41% : Trump also ordered a promotion for a decorated Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq.
30% : In picking Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has selected a military veteran and popular conservative media personality with a large following of his own. Hegseth, 44, has developed a close rapport with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration.
28% : The effort was successful, with Trump that year pardoning a former U.S. Army commando set to stand trial in the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker, as well as a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans, killing two.
23% : He's defended service members accused of war crimes In 2019, Hegseth urged Trump to pardon U.S. service members who had been accused of war crimes.
20% : Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release service members accused of war crimes.

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