Trump Pushes ‘Peace Through Strength’ Vision with Defense Picks

Donald Trump is advancing his vision for "peace through strength" with national security and foreign policy appointments, tapping loyalists who share his views on the rivalry with China and the need for U.S. allies to bolster defensive capabilities.

The latest appointment to fit the president-elect's mold came Tuesday, when Trump announced that Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, would be nominated as defense secretary.

"Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our 'Peace through Strength' policy," Trump said in a statement.

Mike Waltz, a congressman from Florida, was announced as the pick for national security adviser on the same day.

Trump has not only urged U.S. allies and partners to boost defense spending, but is focused on bolstering American defense capabilities as well. He increased defense spending and worked to modernize the U.S. military in his first term as president that began in 2017.

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Trump's second term will place "more focus on leader-level engagement as a tool ... in other words, a more Trump-centric foreign policy, rather than a more general conception of the United States as an actor broadly," said Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence in his first term, to lead the CIA. Ratcliffe has criticized investigations into Trump and has voiced skepticism over how intelligence agencies operate.

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