Trump Puts Allies on Alert by Handing Pentagon to Fox News Host

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s selection of Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary puts the world’s most powerful military in the hands of the least experienced leader it’s had in decades.

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Political and military officials around the world resorted to Internet searches for details of the nominee’s record. One senior European diplomat said his lack of experience isn’t encouraging. A US defense official called it an unusual move to go for someone who had never held a senior position.

Unlike previous defense secretaries, Hegseth hasn’t served at high levels of the military or government. After graduation in 2003 he was commissioned as an infantry captain and served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Among recent predecessors, Lloyd Austin and Jim Mattis were both generals while Bob Gates had run the CIA.

“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” House Armed Services Committee Ranking Democrat Adam Smith said in a statement. “I question President-elect Trump’s choice of a television news host to take on this immensely important role.”

Trump’s nomination is deeply consequential because Washington faces an array of security challenges from Russia’s war in Ukraine, to the risks of regional escalation in the Middle East and an increasingly assertive and well-armed China. It’s also symbolically important as the world reevaluates the place of a US that has been shaped by Trump’s “America first” rhetoric since his first term.

In recent appearances, Hegseth has made clear that he sees China as the primary strategic concern for the US, remarking in one interview that Beijing was “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”

“They have a full spectrum long-term view of not just regional but global domination,” he said.

Hegseth will have to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which must approve his nomination before sending it to the full chamber. The Republicans’ 53-47 majority in the Senate, with JD Vance casting the tie-breaker, means four Republicans would need to vote against him. So far none have said they would be willing to break ranks.

“I think he is going to be a very strong secretary of defense,” said Senator Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican who had been mentioned as a possible Pentagon pick, accordign to NBC News.

When asked about Hegseth’s nomination by journalists on Wednesday, Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said: “We are happy to see any nominations of people who are friendly toward Taiwan.”

While there is a consensus across the political spectrum in the US over China being the top military challenge, President Joe Biden has also provided billions of dollars in financial aid and weapons to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion and Trump during the election campaign signaled he may not match that commitment.

“If you want to be effective in dealing with China, you need your friends and allies in NATO, as Trump understood during his first administration,” said Oana Lungescu, a fellow at the think tank RUSI and former NATO spokesperson. “You also need to avoid seeing the Indo-Pacific theater in isolation from the Euro-Atlantic - because China doesn’t.”

European officials are worried that victory for President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine would expose countries on NATO’s eastern flank to threats from Russia.

In recent remarks, Hegseth has also expressed skepticism about US military involvement in Europe. In one interview he said he didn’t think victory in Ukraine would embolden Putin.

“If Ukraine can defend themselves from that, great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe,” he said.

Another European diplomat said such remarks are worrying and counseled colleagues not to underestimate him. Others said that the nominee’s views are less of a worry than Trump’s own attitudes toward European security. One added that the bloc needs to treat the election result as a wake up call and to realize that it cannot rely on the US for security.

Most recently as a co-host of Fox News channel’s weekend morning program, Hegseth has been a fervent supporter of Trump and his views on reforms of the US military to push back on progressive causes such as LGTBQ rights.

Hegseth has also been a backer of Trump’s attempts to do diplomatic deals to resolve global security problems, including a failed attempt to reach an agreement with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during Trump’s first term to dial back Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threat.

“We need someone in that job who will be a focused, strong leader,” said Emily Harding, a former CIA officer, who is now a program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Someone who will set a vision for a new military for a new moment of strategic competition — a grown up with long experience and the credibility to make real change.”

NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that he didn’t know Hegseth and Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor pick, but had looked at their resumes. “We will work together, we have to and it will work,” he told reporters in Warsaw.

--With assistance from Andrea Palasciano, Andra Timu, Jan Bratanic, Ania Nussbaum, Piotr Skolimowski and Natalia Ojewska.

(Updates with Joni Ernst comment in 9th paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected the spelling of the NATO chief’s last name in the final paragraph.)

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