WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump has picked as his Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders, opposed women in combat roles, and even questioned whether the top American general was in his position because of his skin color.
Trump, announcing his decision on Tuesday, praised Hegseth, who is an Army National Guard veteran and, according to his website, served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Cuba.
Trump also announced that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe will head the Central Intelligence Agency under his administration. He also picked former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as his Ambassador to Israel.
For the position of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Trump picked successful real estate investor and philanthropist Steven C Witkoff, giving him the mandate to restore peace in the region.
He also declared his former White House cabinet secretary Bill McGinley as the White House Counsel in his second term beginning January 20 next year.
Ratcliffe previously served as the sixth Director of National Intelligence (DNI). In this role, he served as the leader of the US intelligence community and principal intelligence advisor to President Trump in his first term.
Huckabee, 69, was the governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. His daughter Sarah Sanders Huckabee is the current governor of Arkansas.
The new special envoy to the Middle East is the chairman and CEO of Witkoff, which he founded in 1997. Since founding the firm, Witkoff has leveraged his extensive real estate expertise to successfully lead the financing, repositioning, and construction of over 70 properties in major business districts in the US as well as abroad and with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, a media release said.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been picked to serve as the next homeland security secretary, Trump has said.