Trump taps Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday night.

Trump listed Hegseth's experience as a veteran and his media experience as his reasons for the choice.

"Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice - Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down," Trump said in the post.

Hegseth, 44, did not immediately comment on the announcement.

Hegseth graduated from Princeton University in 2003, where he published a student conservative publication, and later served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard and was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. He also earned a Master's degree in 2014 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Hegseth served as the executive director of the advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America, which has called for more privatization of the Veterans Administration.

Hegseth joined FOX News in 2014 as a contributor and co-hosts FOX & Friends Weekend and offers commentary on the network's other programs, where he has consistently bashed Democrats on various topics from LGBTQ issues to foreign policy.