A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is muscling Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary toward confirmation Friday, prioritizing his vow to create a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon over allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women.

A Senate panel voted along party lines to approve Pete Hegseth's nomination to be the next defense secretary, moving his nomination along to a full Senate vote.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) From left, Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency nominee; Kash Patel, FBI director nominee; Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense nominee ...

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles. The vote was 56-42 in Zeldin's favor.

President Donald Trump has kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive actions on immigration, the economy, DEI and more. Trump is discussing his economic agenda in a virtual discussion with those gathered at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Pete Hegseth, a former combat veteran and TV news show host, says he will be a "change agent" and a "warrior" for the department as Republicans demand new and strong leadership in the Pentagon.

Still, the chaotic 48 hours suggested that some in the Trump administration had overestimated their ability to impose ideological purity tests on federal funding. The order interrupted the Medicaid system, which provides health care to millions of low-income Americans, and left thousands of people in limbo.

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major

President Donald Trump's second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his Republican administration.

So far, three people have been confirmed to Trump’s Cabinet: former Sen. Marco Rubio as the secretary of state, John Ratcliffe as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense.