Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
Cabinet
Score
72/100 · High Risk
Net worth
$6.6M
Tenure
Secretary of Defense 2025-present
About
Pete Hegseth is a Fox News weekend host, Army National Guard veteran, and Princeton graduate with no prior executive branch or Pentagon management experience. He was the most controversial of Trump's cabinet picks, confirmed 51-50, with Vice President Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Multiple women, including a former colleague and a woman who filed a police report, accused him of sexual misconduct; he denied all allegations. Former Fox colleagues and National Guard subordinates raised concerns about alcohol use. The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced his nomination 14-13. He has no prior experience running a large organization and oversees a 3-million-person defense department.
Donations & financial influence
| Category | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total raised (career) | N/A (appointed) | |
| Corporate total | N/A | |
| AIPAC / pro-Israel | N/A | |
| Oil & gas / fossil | N/A | |
| Pharma / healthcare | N/A | |
| Defense | N/A | |
| Wall Street / finance | N/A | |
| Big Tech | N/A |
Controversies & conflicts of interest
- Sexual assault allegation, settled out of court for undisclosed sum before confirmation
- Acknowledged alcohol issues, drank on the job per reports
- No prior executive or government leadership experience before leading world's largest military
- Used Signal (commercial app) to discuss classified Yemen strikes, accidentally included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg
- Fired uniformed Joint Chiefs and replaced with Trump loyalists
- Senate confirmed by narrowest margin for Defense Secretary in decades
- Ex-wife filed restraining order, claims disputed