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Trump’s Pete Hegseth Nomination Has Left Republicans Confused On and Off the Hill

“You know as much about Pete Hegseth as I do,” the House Armed Services chair said of the new defense secretary nominee.

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/AP

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.