Watching the confirmation of President Trump’s cabinet nominees has been rewarding for those in the America First movement. When Pete Hegseth was confirmed as the US Secretary of Defense, Minnesota conservatives felt a little extra pride. Hegseth is a Minnesota native, born on June 6th, 1980 in Minneapolis and grew up in Forest Lake. Repeatedly, in interviews, he has contributed his deep-felt American patriotism to his childhood experiences here in Minnesota.
Prior to his nomination, Pete Hegseth was known as a conservative Republican political commentator and a popular co-host of Fox and Friends. Once nominated, mainstream media used its platform to launch personal attacks against Hegseth, a military veteran who earned the Bronze Star as a special operations officer serving in Iraq. His early years, accomplishments and connection to Minnesota were lost in the noise.
Pete Hegseth graduated from Forest Lake High School in 1999. Hegseth played football and basketball, setting the school’s all-time scoring record and single-season record for three-pointers. In his high school yearbook Senior Biography, Hegseth set a course for his future, writing “go to a college (maybe a military academy), marry a beautiful wife, roll in the dough, have Pete Jr. and teach him hoops.”
Hegseth received an ROTC scholarship to attend Princeton University, where he continued to play basketball as a guard. Pete Hegseth jumped into leadership at Princeton, becoming Class Senator his freshman year and eventually the publisher for the Princeton Tory, the university’s most conservative publication.
At age 22, Pete Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota National Guard. Hegseth served in the National Guard from 2003-2014, and again from 2019-2021, attaining the rank of Major. His Bronze Star was received in 2005 during a combat deployment to Iraq. The Bronze Star is awarded for heroic achievement in a combat zone. Pete Hegseth has received several additional military honors.
Pete Hegseth has championed the needs of fellow veterans throughout his civilian life. As the executive director for Concerned Veterans for America, he worked for greater access to health care for veterans. This advocacy led to the 2017 Veterans Choice Program, allowing veterans to receive healthcare from civilian medical providers when care is not easily accessible from the Veterans Affair Department.
In 2012, Hegseth ran for the MN Republican endorsement for US Senate but did not receive it. He was just 31 years old. When asked about the potential of facing Amy Klobuchar, Hegseth told the Star Tribune “I’ve never been afraid of long odds, I’ve never been afraid of the David-vs-Goliath scenario.” Kurt Bills won the endorsement, losing to Klobuchar that November.
Most recently, Pete Hegseth has called Tennessee home, where he lives with his third wife, Jennifer Rauchet, and their blended family of seven children. “I’ve created plenty of problems for myself,” Hegseth stated on the Megan Kelly Podcast, “I know sitting here, I am a liberated man by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the partner that I am with.”
As the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth oversees the nation’s armed forces and reports directly to the military’s commander-in-chief, the President. We can look forward to Hegseth’s service knowing his roots are here in the Minnesota of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
2 Responses
Great article!!
Thank you for sharing, Laura. We’re so proud to have someone good from MN representing us at the national level.
Hey Laura, nice article!