When Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense nominee, House Republicans were, to say the least, surprised.
In a private conversation on the House floor, one Republican lawmaker remarked: “Who the fuck is this guy?” per sources familiar with the conversation.
On Capitol Hill, Hegseth’s appointment raised a lot of eyebrows and didn’t garner much immediate praise. An opinion host on Fox News and a National Guard officer, his résumé is punctuated by years worth of controversial comments, from “we should not have women in combat roles” to advocating for then-President Trump to pardon convicted war criminals.
Do Republicans think Hegseth has enough experience to be the Secretary of Defense?
“What matters is that the President elect believes so,” one House Republican told NOTUS over text.
The confusion extends beyond the Hill: One defense industry lobbyist reportedly asked the exact same question as the one expressed on the House floor, per Politico, telling the outlet they were hoping for “someone who actually has an extensive background in defense. That would be a good start.”
Publicly, House Republicans weren’t shy about their lack of familiarity with Hegseth — though notably shared as much with less colorful language.
“I honestly don’t know enough about him. I want to research, certainly familiar with his work on TV,” Rep. Nick LaLota told NOTUS.
Even the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said he isn’t aware of who Hegseth is.
“I just know him from his being on TV,” Rep. Mike Rogers said. When asked if Hegseth had the experience needed to be the secretary of defense, he gave a similar answer.
“I have no idea. You know as much about Pete Hegseth as I do,” he said.
Sen. John Hoeven was similarly unaware of his background and assumed Hegseth must have been in the Marines like his dad.
“So he’s a Marine, and I’m a big fan of Marines, and I’m looking forward to getting to know him,” Hoeven said. “He’s got an excellent track record, both in the military and he’s been a tremendous success at everything he’s done.”
As an Army combat veteran with experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hegseth’s résumé overseas is what many Republicans in Congress are leaning into in support of him. House Speaker Mike Johnson was quick to point out his deployments while still playing up Hegseth’s public attacks on the current “woke” military leadership.
“Pete is dedicated to ensuring that our military is focused on lethality and readiness, not woke ideology,” Johnson said. “He served our country faithfully in Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq and is a believer in peace through strength and the America First agenda.”
Earlier this month, Hegseth was a guest with podcaster and former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan. The two talked at length about Hegseth’s fears around “the institutions going sideways” and becoming more “woke.”
“Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI, woke shit, has got to go,” he said.
Republicans are spinning Hegseth’s lack of experience as an upside for the job. One Republican lawmaker, also a veteran, said they see it as part of the reason Hegseth got the nomination.
“President Trump is following through on his promise,” they said, “to shake up the entrenched bureaucracy in our government, including the Pentagon.”
But even his defenders say Hegseth will need a solid staff. Republicans said they expect he’ll have the support of extremely “experienced deputies” who “know their way around” the Pentagon. They expect him to be “saddled with success.”
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.