Pete Hegseth has been loyal defense secretary for Trump

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has long been known for speaking bluntly. As a commentator at the conservative US television network Fox News, he celebrated Donald Trump's political instincts. This went down particularly well with Trump and the supporters of his "Make America Great Again" movement.

Hegseth has meanwhile turned into the head of the US Army and, at Trump's behest, calls himself the "secretary of war." As a result, the world takes notice when he chooses words that skirt the boundaries of international law.

In early March, he described the rules of engagement for US soldiers as "stupid" during a press conference on the war with Iran, casting doubt on rules intended to prevent war crimes.

In mid-March, he declared "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" in Iran.

In military terms, this means that even those who have surrendered will be killed, explains Jacqueline Hellman, an expert in international law at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

The statement "alludes to a practice that is expressly prohibited," she told DW, adding that, as mere rhetoric, this is not punishable. 

But, she explained, such a statement could be classified as a war crime if it is formulated as an order and results in corresponding actions by the armed forces.

Is Hegseth at odds with international law?

It is not the first time critics have linked Hegseth to war crimes. During the US military's attacks on suspected smuggling boats from Venezuela, it was alleged that Hegseth ordered that the strikes should be lethal. This led to accusations that controversial follow-up airstrikes on a boat in the Caribbean, which killed two survivors of an initial attack, came about because of that order. However, Hegseth has strongly denied issuing a kill order. Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley also testified to lawmakers that he ordered the second strike himself and there was no "kill them all" order from Hegseth.

Before Hegseth became defense secretary, he seemed at odds with the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In a 2024 interview with podcast host Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL, Hegseth defended three former US soldiers who had been convicted of war crimes and pardoned by Trump in 2019.

"We've written rules that are impossible, that are written for our guys to be in handcuffs," he said.

His example was the rule that US soldiers may only shoot at armed, suspected enemies once they have taken aim at them. He said that during his deployment to Iraq in 2005, he had told his men, "Guys, we're not doing that."

Hegseth's military career

Pete Hegseth, born in 1980, grew up in a suburb of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. After high school, he studied politics at the elite Princeton University, where he became a conservative voice on campus as editor of The Princeton Tory.

After graduating, he enlisted in the military in 2003. During his active duty, he served at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He received several awards and rose to the rank of major.

In 2014, Hegseth transferred to the National Guard Reserve. At the same time, he began working at Fox News as a commentator and host, making him known to a wider audience.

Hegseth increasingly presented himself as an experienced frontline soldier with a steeled body and an iron will to fight for conservative causes, including appearing shirtless in social media posts and books such as "Modern Warriors" and "American Crusade."

Hegseth accused of extremism

Until 2024, Hegseth remained a reservist in the National Guard but then left at his own request after comrades in his unit reported him as a possible extremist. The reason for this was allegedly social media posts and his tattoos, as he said in his 2024 interview with Ryan.

His chest bears the so-called Jerusalem Cross, first documented as a symbol of the Crusaders. His bicep bears the Latin inscription "Deus Vult" (English: God wills it), which was not only a battle cry of the Crusaders but is also popular in far-right circles.

In addition to his identification with the Crusaders, his church membership also offers insight into his belief system. Hegseth belongs to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), a movement whose leader seeks to turn the US into a Christian theocracy.

Trump's choice of Hegseth as defense secretary

Once it became known that Trump intended to appoint Hegseth as secretary of defense, resistance emerged within the Republican Party. Even though many would have preferred a seasoned defense policy expert, Trump prevailed and stated, among other things, "Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in 'America First'."

For Trump, Hegseth's loyalty seemed to matter more than his qualifications for the office, for Hegseth had little political experience. In 2012, he joined the Republican Party to run for the US Senate in Minnesota but withdrew his candidacy shortly thereafter. He established further political connections as president of the organization "Concerned Veterans of America." However, when Trump considered him for the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2016, several veterans' organizations protested.

Critical questions in Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing

Nevertheless, Trump appointed Hegseth to his cabinet in 2025. Hegseth faced critical questioning during his confirmation hearing in the US Senate.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst, herself an Iraq veteran, questioned him at length about his views on the role of women in the military. Hegseth had previously spoken out against women serving in combat roles and against diversity in the military. Before the Senate, he downplayed some of these positions but emphasized that military effectiveness was more important than equality policies.

Added to this were doubts about his character. A woman had dropped her allegations of sexual assault against Hegseth in 2017 following an out-of-court settlement. Hegseth emphasized that the affair had been consensual but described it as serious misconduct toward his wife at the time. Hegseth also denied allegations from different sides that he had a drinking problem.

The decisive vote in the Senate ended in a tie: three Republicans had voted against him. However, Hegseth still became Secretary of Defense due to the support of Vice President JD Vance, whose tie-breaking vote is decisive in such cases.

Hegseth's changes to the US military

Since then, Hegseth has continued pursuing his plans to eliminate diversity from the US armed forces. Some observers view the dismissal and demotion of several long-serving generals as part of this effort.

In March 2025, he came under fire for leaking classified information, which he had apparently inadvertently disclosed in chats with journalists and other unauthorized individuals.

In September 2025, he caused a stir when he summoned hundreds of US generals, some of whom were on active missions around the world, to a meeting alongside Trump at the Naval Base in Quantico, Virginia, to rally them to his course of action.

In Hegseth's own words, this means above all to "restore the warrior ethos."

An earlier version of this article said that Hegseth had been accused of rape. The charge was actually sexual assault. We apologize for this error.

This article was originally published in German.