Nominees for Cabinet positions convey the values ​​and intentions of a new administration and the way the president-elect views each agency or department within the government. What does Donald Trump’s choice of Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation hearing for defense secretary will take place on Tuesday, tell us about Trump’s ideal of military leadership and his vision for the nation’s armed forces?

First, like all authoritarian leaders, Trump values ​​personal loyalty over experience and competence. Yes, Hegseth is a decorated Army National Guard veteran who served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But his time as a Fox News host, his strong defense of Trump’s falsehoods, such as Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 election, and his personal profile as an apparent rule-breaker and renegade personality most likely counted more in Trump’s judgment.

In a normal democratic system, Hegseth would never be considered for the post of defense minister. He has no experience running a large organization, let alone one as large as the Pentagon. He advocated for several former military personnel convicted of war crimes. He resigned from his roles at veterans organizations after allegations of financial mismanagement and inappropriate behavior emerged, which Hegseth denies. He was also accused of excessive drinking and sexual assault (he agreed with the accuser but maintained his innocence and was not charged).

The warning signs aren’t just limited to his resume. Hegseth believes that women should not be allowed into combat situations, a belief that female combat veterans have denounced as reactionary and offensive. This is also counterproductive as the military struggles to meet its recruiting goals, particularly among men. According to internal service data from Military.com, women were responsible for an increase in enlistments in 2024 – an 18% increase compared to just 8% for men.

Then there’s his tattoo, which has traditionally been associated with white supremacists and Christian nationalists. And he was one of a dozen National Guard members pulled from a security mission for the 2021 inauguration because, as Hegseth himself put it, “I was considered an ‘extremist.’ This is particularly worrisome for a potential defense secretary, considering that the military is intended to be a strictly non-partisan institution, serving the country and the Constitution rather than any party or ideology.

All of this would seem disqualifying if these Cabinet appointments were guided by democratic values ​​such as good governance and accountability. From an authoritarian perspective, however, things look different. If the goal is to politicize the military and weaken the military codes of duty and honor that bind it to adherence to the constitution rather than becoming the personal tool of the commander in chief, Hegseth could be the ideal choice.

Even before Trump began screaming about claiming Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal for America, he showed his desire to break with tradition by using the military for domestic operations. He has proposed using the military to support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and involving the military in overtly political actions (court-martialing former Rep. Liz Cheney or using the military or National Guard against Democratic politicians, critics and protesters who… … Trump called “the enemy from within.”

Trump’s choice of Hegseth confirms the judgment of senior civilian and retired military officials, such as former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, who called Trump “fascist to the core” – an assessment supported by Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, who reported that Trump complained to him that US generals were not as loyal to him as “Hitler’s generals”. (A Trump campaign spokesman disputed Kelly’s report.)

Clearly, Trump is seeking a defense secretary who shares the (supposed) complete and unconditional obedience of these generals. And Hegseth’s lack of qualifications would most likely also help realize the autocrat’s dream: the official who blindly obeys the leader’s orders, no matter how wrong they are, and who doesn’t rock the boat by giving objective and expert advice There are things that contradict the wishes of the leader – the leader and his inner circle.

The position of Secretary of Defense requires a high level of performance in high-pressure situations. It requires a steadfast commitment to serve the country and uphold the core military values ​​of competence, duty, honor and integrity. In 2025, the next defense secretary could also preside over a possible radical shift in the military’s role in American society that could undermine the institution’s integrity if its members are forced to commit violent acts against civilians. So it’s no wonder that, to sell this authoritarian vision of the military to the American people, Trump chose a mild-mannered weekend host from a network his base trusts.