President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth has railed against women in combat, voiced support for troops accused and in some instances, convicted of war crimes, and advocated for the firing of the military’s most senior officers accused of supporting so-called “woke” policies.

The Republican president-elect announced on Wednesday that Hegseth, a television host and veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was his nominee for defence secretary - a role typically filled by senior civil servants,

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, said he believes women shouldn’t serve in combat and that he wants to see the military purged of “woke” officials who support diversity,