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January 14, 2025
1 big thing — Scoop: Hegseth makes his case
Pete Hegseth admits he's an unorthodox pick to lead the Pentagon — but says it's "time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm," according to his opening statement, obtained by Axios AM, for today's confirmation hearing.
- Hegseth, one of President-elect Trump's most controversial Cabinet choices, plans to tell the Senate Armed Services Committee that he'll "[r]estore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon," give "new defense companies" a better chance to win contracts, and rapidly deploy emerging technologies.
Why it matters: Hegseth, 44 — a former Fox News host (where he made $2.3 million a year) who's a decorated Army combat veteran — has faced a barrage of allegations since Trump announced the surprise selection. They include an accusation of sexual assault and allegations of excessive drinking. A seven-year-old email from his mom, which she quickly recanted, said he routinely mistreated women.
So Hegseth, who calls his selection for Defense secretary "the most important deployment of my life," can expect a grueling hearing: Republicans tell us they expect Democratic senators will try to embarrass him and Trump.
- But GOP senators, some initially skeptical, indicate Hegseth is on track for confirmation.
- The hearing room will be jammed with supporters from all phases of Hegseth's life.
🖼️ The big picture: The opening statement doesn't directly address the allegations. Hegseth says in his testimony: "It is true that I don't have a similar biography to Defense secretaries of the last 30 years."
- "But, as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly 'the right credentials' — whether they are retired generals, academics or defense contractor executives — and where has it gotten us?"
- "He believes, and I humbly agree, that it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives."
- Hegseth says his "only special interest is — the warfighter."
The backstory: Hegseth is "not pretending to be a standard issue SECDEF and wears that as a badge of honor," a source familiar with his thinking tells Axios.
- "The standard-issue SECDEFs have degraded our readiness, our lethality and our ability to win wars. There's never been a singular focus on the warfighter, and that's why we're losing wars and deterrence capabilities."
🔬 Zoom in: Hegseth, a fierce DEI opponent, bluntly opposed women serving in combat roles in the military. But he softened that view during meetings with senators, saying he supports "all women serving in our military today."
- "[W]e are American warriors," Hegseth says in his opening statement. "Our standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word)," he continues.
- "We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness and merit."
🔭 Zoom out: Hegseth strikes an uncharacteristically humble, bipartisan tone in his opener, saying he looks "forward to working with this committee — senators from both parties — to secure our nation."
- Hegseth — who became famous among conservatives as a "Fox & Friends Weekend" host, and is a bestselling author — is an Army veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and earned two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman's Badge.
✝️ Between the lines: Hegseth, who's been married three times, portrays himself as a family man and devout Christian. He acknowledged in an interview with Megyn Kelly that he was a "serial cheater" before he found Christ.
- "Thank you to my incredible wife Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process," his testimony says. "I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny and I pray together each morning, all glory — regardless of the outcome — belongs to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done."
- Naming his "seven wonderful kids, Hegseth adds: "Their future safety and security is in all our hands."
"Leaders — at all levels — will be held accountable. And warfighting and lethality — and the readiness of the troops and their families — will be our only focus," Hegseth adds.
- "That has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001. ... I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, D.C."
- "This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped."
Full text of statement ... Share this story ... Axios' Zachary Basu contributed reporting.
- 🔎 Scoop: Trump team sets red line on Hegseth FBI background check — no distribution to rank-and-file senators, in keeping with Biden precedent, Axios' Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam report. Read the story.
2. 💡Trump's top team is youngest in decades
Donald Trump is about to become the oldest person ever sworn in as president. But his top team (if confirmed) will be the youngest to take office since 1989, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.
- The average age of Trump's picks for VP, chief of staff, attorney general and secretaries of State, Treasury and Defense is 54.1 — the youngest since the start of George H.W. Bush's presidency, and much younger than Trump's team from 2017.
Why it matters: Even as Trump has sought to regain his grip on power, the once and future president has tried to build the next generation of his MAGA movement — as seen in his choice of JD Vance, 40, as vice president.
🔨 Breaking it down: Vance will be the third-youngest VP in U.S. history. Hegseth, 44, would be the youngest SecDef since Donald Rumsfeld during the Ford administration.
- Outside the core Cabinet positions, Trump chose Elise Stefanik, 40, for UN ambassador and Tulsi Gabbard, 43, for director of national intelligence.
- Stephen Miller, 39, will have extraordinary power and wide purview as deputy White House chief of staff for policy, plus homeland security adviser.
- Karoline Leavitt, 27, will be the youngest White House press secretary in history.
3. 📝 Confirmation cheat sheet
Twelve of Trump's picks face Senate scrutiny this week, with tomorrow particularly jam-packed:
State of play: Sen. Marco Rubio seems on track to be easily confirmed for SecState on Inauguration Day. But many nominees can expect longer waits.
🗓️ What to watch: Beyond Hegseth, Trump's most controversial picks — RFK Jr. (HHS), Kash Patel (FBI) and Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) — don't have hearings set.
4. 📱 Meta would be TikTok ban's big winner
If TikTok is banned, more than half of the ad dollars spent on the platform in the U.S. would go to Meta and Google-owned properties, Axios' Sara Fischer writes, based on new projections from eMarketer.
- Meta and Google have invested heavily in their short-video rival products, Reels and Shorts, positioning them to take advantage.
- Meta's Instagram and Facebook would eat up a combined 40% of TikTok's ad revenues, according to the projections.
⚖️ What to watch: For now, the ban seems likely. The Supreme Court's arguments Friday led court watchers to expect it will uphold the ban law.
- China has indicated for months that it wouldn't let ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company to skirt a ban.
👀 Plot twist: A Bloomberg exclusive last evening said Chinese officials are discussing the sale of TikTok's U.S. operation to Elon Musk if the company fails to fend off a ban.
- TikTok called the report "pure fiction."
Share this story ... Go deeper: What'll happen to TikTok this Sunday, when a ban could kick in.
5. 🚩 "Red flag" warning for LA fire resurgence
Weather forecasters have more bad news for firefighters battling the LA fires, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
- The National Weather Service's LA forecast office issued a rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Red Flag Warning lasting until tomorrow at noon for parts of LA and Ventura counties, warning that high winds could cause "explosive fire growth."
The latest: Four major fires have consumed more than 62 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco.
- The two biggest infernos have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Go deeper: The calamity shows what can go horribly wrong even when weather forecasts and warnings prove eerily prescient.
6. 🧠 Patent scoreboard: Samsung top, China rising
7. 🚔 D.C. dials up security for inauguration
President-elect Trump's inauguration will feature some of the most stringent security measures ever taken for a national security event, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports.
🧮 By the numbers: There are 250,000 ticketed guests, and thousands more are expected on the National Mall next Monday, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said at a news conference.
- Over 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel will be deployed — including 4,000 officers coming in from other cities and 7,800 National Guard members.
- 30 miles of anti-scale fencing will be installed — the most ever for an inauguration.
- Drones will aid surveillance.
🎵 Performers during inaugural festivities will include the Village People, Kid Rock and Billy Ray Cyrus, with Carrie Underwood scheduled to sing "America the Beautiful" at Monday's ceremony.
8. 🏈 1 for the road: Sideline shot makes a bestseller
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown took time out from a big playoff win Sunday to thumb through a book on the sidelines — and launch it to the top of Amazon's bestsellers list, Axios Philadelphia's Isaac Avilucea reports.
- Jim Murphy's motivational work "Inner Excellence" jumped from No. 552,709 on Amazon to No. 1 after Brown's viral moment, per Sportico.
⚡️The intrigue: Some fans wondered whether the temperamental wideout, who was having a quiet game despite the win, may have been sending a subtle message to his team.
- Brown denied that on X. He said he's brought the book to every game and reads it between drives to "refocus and lock in."
- Murphy, a mental skills coach, told Sports Illustrated he was initially confused when his phone started blowing up with messages. "And then I saw what happened and I'm like: 'Oh my God. That's crazy.'"
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