Is Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth a War Hawk?

As rapid-fire announcements of massive import are flying out of the Trump camp, alarm bells are going off left and right by pundits claiming that we are seeing a repeat of Trump first term where he appointed swampy neocons and corrupt industry players whose agenda runs directly counter to the populist platform that Trump ran on. It started when he floated names like Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo, only to quickly walk that back. Similarly alarming was the suggestion (not yet debunked) that Senator Rubio, who infamously seems eager to engage in conflict in all 3 of the most inflamed potential war zones.

In this discussion, released a week before the election, Pete Hegseth and Shawn Ryan talk about the micro and the macro problems facing the military from moral and retention issues stemming with DEI and mandated vaccines to money wasted on the war on Ukraine when massive security issues in our energy grid and clean water plants go completely unguarded.

The picture of the future Secretary of Defense (Sec Def) quickly emerges as less of an aggro “War Hawk” and more of a practical problem solver who shares the principles which President Elect Trump ran on.