Trump Defense Secretary Pick, Pete Hegseth, has Minnesota Roots

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Fox News commentator and host Pete Hegseth to serve as his Secretary of Defense.

The 44-year-old Hegseth has some deep ties to the military and conservative politics in Minnesota.

Peter Brian Hegseth was born in Minneapolis on June 6, 1980 and grew up in Forest Lake. He played football and basketball at Forest Lake Area High School and graduated as valedictorian in 1999.

He got his Bacheor of Arts at Princeton University where he studied politics and played college basketball.

Hegseth went on to study public policy at the Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, earning a Master's.

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Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Minnesota National Guard. He served at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and later in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard. He has received numerous awards for his service.

In 2012, Hegseth formed MN PAC, a political action committee. However, APM Reports found a third of MN PAC's funds were spent on Christmas parties for families and friends, expenditures not allowed under Minnesota's campaign finance laws. APM Reports also found less than half of the PAC's resources were used for candidates. In March 2018, the PAC closed its account with the state.

In 2012, Hegseth ran for the Republican nomination for the US Senate in Minnesota, but withdraw before the Republican party primary in August.

In 2014, he took on a significant role in Minnesota politics, becoming Finance Chair for the Minnesota Republican Party, leading the party's finance efforts.

Hegseth joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014. He is currently a host of "FOX & Friends Weekend."