Trump Picks Fox Host for Defense Secretary

President-elect Trump named more members of his administration Tuesday, including Fox host Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of defense. "Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country," Trump said in a statement, per CNN. Hegseth, 44, is an Army veteran who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, though the Guardian notes that his lack of senior military or national defense experience is "sure to draw questions about his qualifications to lead the department." Trump advisers tell CNN that Hegseth, a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, has been an informal adviser to Trump for years. Other Tuesday announcements:

• Mike Huckabee. Trump said he will nominate the former Arkansas governor to serve as ambassador to Israel, the Hill reports. "He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him," Trump said. "Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!" Huckabee has long expressed support for Israeli settlers in the West Bank and rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, the AP notes. "I feel that we have a responsibility to respect that this is land that has historically belonged to the Jews," he said in 2015.

• John Ratcliffe. John Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence in Trump's first administration, is Trump's nominee for CIA director. The New York Times notes that confirmation will likely make the former congressman from Texas "the most influential voice on intelligence matters in the next administration."
• Kristi Noem. Trump confirmed Tuesday that the South Dakota governor is his pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. "She will work closely with 'Border Czar' Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries," Trump said. CNN notes that while Noem "does not represent a border state, she has a long history of taking hardline positions on immigration."
• Bill McGinley. Republican campaign lawyer Bill McGinley will be the White House counsel in Trump's administration, a position that does not require Senate confirmation and will put him among Trump's closest advisers, Politico reports. McGinley was White House cabinet secretary in the first Trump administration.
• Steven Witkoff. Trump named real estate investor Steven Witkoff as his special envoy to the Middle East, saying he "will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Witkoff "has been Trump's regular golf partner and was seen as a conduit to the Jewish business community during his winning presidential campaign," the Times of Israel reports.

This story has been updated with additional details. (More President-elect Trump stories.)