Hegseth as Defense Secretary Doesn’t Bode Well for Pentagon: Ex-RNC Staffer

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary doesn’t bode well for the Pentagon, Justin Higgins, former senior opposition researcher for the Republican National Committee (RNC), wrote in a Saturday op-ed.
Earlier this week, Trump tapped Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, listing his accolades and calling him “tough, smart and a true believer in America First.”
“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” the president-elect wrote in a statement.
Hegseth served in the U.S. Army where he did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 before he became a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend in 2017.
Higgins knows a thing or two about Hegseth, given that he vetted him in 2016 when Trump’s team was considering him for under secretary roles at the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs for Trump’s first term. Higgins now identifies as a Democrat and is a politically appointed official for the governor of Puerto Rico. He co-hosts the Politics + Media 101 podcast and is a regular contributor to DW News, Germany’s international broadcaster.
In an opinion piece titled, “What I learned after helping vet Pete Hegseth for the RNC in 2016,” published by MSNBC on Saturday, Higgins pointed out Hegseth’s Ivy League degrees and his military awards, but said he lacked other experience.
“The potential new secretary of defense has no experience running a large organization, lacks foreign policy experience, and has never worked in a meaningful way with Congress to pass billions in military budgets,” Higgins wrote.
Higgins added that Hegseth was “unqualified for the more junior positions he was being considered for in 2016, and eight additional years spent at Fox News has not made him any more qualified to run the Department of Defense.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, and Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, via email for comment Saturday.
Higgins wrote that he believes Trump picked Hegseth “because he represents an empty vessel that sounds and acts tough on TV. It’s not hard to imagine that he would do and say whatever Trump wants.”
He also added that also considering Trump’s other choices of “known interventionist” Florida Senator Marco Rubio for U.S. Secretary of State and “China hawk” Florida Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser, “It’s time to put to bed the notion that Trump is anti-interventionist, and prepare ourselves for the very real possibility of a new American conflict started by team Trump.”
Higgins wrote: “Again, it’s somewhat easy to see why Trump may have picked Hegseth for the role; but none of it bodes well for the next four years.”
Trump’s choice for Hegseth to lead the Pentagon has led to mixed reactions.
Andrew Desiderio, senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, posted to X, formerly Twitter, with multiple reactions from senators after the news of Hegseth’s nomination became known.
GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said “wow,” according to his X post. The senator added that she was surprised by the selection, as Hegseth was not on the lists of contenders for the office.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana responded to the news by asking, “who?” according to NBC News’ Frank Thorp V’s post on X. Thorp also noted that Republican Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina said Hegseth is “an impressive individual.”
GOP Senator Todd Young of Indiana said he didn’t “have a sense” of Hegseth’s background or know his vision for the Defense Department, according to Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram’s post to X.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts denounced the selection of Hegseth on X, saying in part: “I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform. I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”
Meanwhile, former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, who has emerged as a Trump critic, described Hegseth as “a nice guy,” adding that she was “grateful for his service.”
“But this is not a person who’s prepared to lead a 3-million-person workforce at the Pentagon,” Griffin said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. “And I would just say this: Donald Trump does have a mandate. He was elected…but if he’s trying to actually ruffle feathers and get some change at the Pentagon, you don’t send someone in who’s never stepped foot in the Pentagon, never worked there.”
Griffin, who also served as the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson in 2019, added that Hegseth would be “outmaneuvered by top brass” and that “the joint chiefs are going to run the place. And it’s just—this is not a qualified person for this role.”