When he takes office four weeks from today, President Trump will have four short years to fulfill his America First agenda of fixing Washington institutions and making the federal government work once again for the American people, not vice versa.
That’s a tall order of business to accomplish in a short timeframe, and President Trump knows it. Unlike in his first term, he has zero time to waste on Cabinet choices that are not aligned 100 percent with his plan and purpose.
For that reason, in selecting his team of leaders for his administration since the election, President Trump has placed a premium on three characteristics: ability, loyalty and a sense of urgency. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for secretary of defense, incorporates thoroughly all three of those traits critical for success in the position.
There is no question Hegseth is well qualified for the job. A combat veteran and former field-grade officer with degrees from Princeton and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Hegseth has a remarkably similar background to President Trump’s last defense secretary Mark Esper, a combat veteran and former field-grade officer with degrees from West Point and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Esper was confirmed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 90-8 and was praised by Democrats for his service in the office. It’s pretty hard for any Senator – Democrat or Republican – who voted for Mark Esper’s confirmation to argue that Hegseth lacks the requisite qualifications for the position, given their near-identical résumés.
Beyond his background, Hegseth is arguably better qualified for the position than the last three defense secretaries, among other reasons-- because he lacks the swampy Beltway conveyor belt of baggage unfurling from a defense-contractor affiliation that inevitably leads to a status-quo, change-resisting mindset at the top of the Pentagon. Esper and Biden’s defense secretary Lloyd Austin both made millions at Raytheon just prior to their appointment to the position, and Trump’s first SecDef, James Mattis, made close to a million dollars while on the board of General Dynamics before he was sworn in. With zero ties to the increasingly consolidated defense industry, Hegseth lacks the real and perceived conflicts of interests of his three predecessors and can get to work right away cutting rampant price-gouging and other back-scratching by contractors doing business with the Pentagon.
Among all of President Trump’s cabinet picks, Hegseth is among his most loyal. A longtime, staunch defender of the president as a FOX News co-host, Hegseth frequently got under the skin of the liberal media for the level of his advocacy for the president and his record in his first term. He is also completely aligned with President Trump’s agenda for reforming the defense department, in particular eliminating the Biden-Harris woke DEI and climate programs, reversing the record-low levels of recruitment on their watch, and refocusing the military on its true role of warfighting.
President Trump said as much earlier this month when he defended Hegseth on Truth Social following weeks of negative media coverage of his personal life: “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe…He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Also, no one understands the urgency of reforming the Pentagon under President Trump’s leadership more than Hegseth. His goal, “Mak[ing] America Lethal Again” will begin on Day One following the president’s inauguration. Former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, a Marine combat veteran who served on the House Armed Services Committee, last month described the speed at which Hegseth is prepared to execute on the task: “It really does take the secretary himself, backed by the president, waking up every single day, prioritizing one to three issues in order to bend the Pentagon bureaucracy to his will.” Hegseth will have a “very aggressive reform agenda,” he said, “I mean, he's written about it in his book.” This is the opposite of Pentagon leadership during President Trump’s first term, when ossified leaders such as Mattis, Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley delayed, resisted and even apologized for Trump’s decisions on national security.
In fact, very few recall that Hegseth’s grasp of the urgency of reform in Washington led him to alert President Trump a year into his first term that his own secretary of veterans affairs was working against him on reforming veterans’ healthcare. President Trump abruptly fired the VA secretary, David Shulkin, a mere three weeks after his call with Hegseth. That is not exactly hanging back when a situation demands action.
As the Senate prepares to consider Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary, it’s important to recognize the three reasons he is best suited to lead President Trump’s reforms in the Pentagon and across the uniformed services – it is hard to find anyone more qualified to shake up the bureaucracy, more loyal to the President and his agenda, and more prepared to move out quickly to get the job done.
Mr. Ullyot is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs and National Security Council spokesman.
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