A Washington Post review of Pete Hegseth’s writing shows he rejected steps to integrate women and transgender troops across the military, and called for a ‘crusade’ to protect ‘Judeo-Christian’ values.

President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Pentagon, Army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, has forcefully argued that steps to incorporate women and transgender personnel across the military are eroding U.S. security and that Islam is a violent force threatening to overtake America and should be countered by a new “crusade,” his past writings and commentary reveal.

Such views will come under scrutiny as lawmakers examine his record ahead of his Senate confirmation process to become defense secretary, a position in which he would oversee more than 3 million military and civilian personnel, an immense global network of bases, and the United States’ massive nuclear arsenal. As Pentagon chief, he would lead one of the nation’s most diverse institutions, comprising men and women from a range of races, ethnicities, birthplaces and religions.

Hegseth did not respond to requests for comment. As of Thursday evening, he has made no public statements since Trump announced his nomination.

Trump’s choice of the telegenic Hegseth, 44, signals the incoming administration’s intent to elevate long-standing attacks by the president-elect and his allies on what they describe “wokeism” in the military, which they blame for recruiting woes, poor morale and America’s battlefield failures. It also underscores the possibility that a second Trump presidency will again herald policies, including the then-president’s travel ban, that many American Muslims viewed as hostile to their faith.

Hegseth’s recent writings include scathing critiques of steps taken over the past decade to eliminate barriers for female service members, support the service and medical care of transgender troops, and call attention to discrimination in the ranks, offering little proof for his conclusion that they weaken the military. Democrats have argued that to retain a strong, vibrant force, the military must reflect the nation at large and provide opportunities for advancement regardless of troops’ race, gender and sexual orientation.

In his latest book, published this summer ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Hegseth called on America’s next commander in chief to shift the military’s focus — beginning by reverting the Department of Defense to its pre-1947 name, the Department of War.

“The problem is that a more empathetic and effeminate military isn’t a more efficient one‚” he wrote in “The War on Warriors.” He added: “It’s a more inefficient one. That puts everyone at risk. Which, again, is a really bad thing in the business of killing.”

In another passage, Hegseth decries what he says is liberals’ rejection of “simple realities” affecting the military, including what he identifies as greater male strength and aggressiveness. While he praises women’s historical service in noncombat roles, he pans the Pentagon’s 2015 decision, under then-President Barack Obama, to allow women to serve in all combat roles.

In his book, Hegseth cites biological differences between men and women, including greater muscle mass among men, which he said made women less apt for the demands of combat. “Men are, gasp, biologically stronger, faster and bigger. Dare I say, physically superior,” he wrote.

He also rejected arguments put forward by Pentagon leaders when they announced the combat integration decision, which was controversial within the military and opposed by some uniformed leaders: that women deserved the opportunity to serve in any unit if they could meet its standards. Rather, Hegseth said, the move would result in high casualties should those units see combat.

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