Republican senators appear to be caught off guard by Donald Trump nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth as the next secretary of defense.
Trump announced Tuesday that he had decided to nominate Hegseth, the Fox & Friends Weekend co-host and an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as secretary of defense.
“I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday night. “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. 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.”
However, Trump appointing Hegseth drew varying reactions from GOP senators.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) remarked, “Really? I’d have to think about it.”
“Wow… I’m just surprised because the names that I’ve heard for Secretary of Defense have not included him,” Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told NBC News.
Asked if she would vote to confirm him Murkowski said, “I don’t know.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was more succinct, simply asking “Who?”
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) praised Hegseth as “an impressive individual.”
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst told CBS News that Hegseth is “going to be a very strong secretary.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called Hegseth’s nomination “interesting,” while Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said he doesn’t have “a sense of his background.”
Hegseth has “an excellent background as a junior officer but does not have the senior national security experience that secretaries need,” Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told the Associated Press.
“I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defense and picked one who would be loyal to him.” Cancian said, adding that the lack of experience might make it more difficult for Hegseth to get through Senate confirmation.
