January 14,2025
Only 19% of the public approve of Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Thirty-five percent disapprove and 33% say they don’t know enough to have an opinion.
Republicans are much more likely than Democrats or independents to look favorably on Trump’s choice to oversee the Department of Defense. Republican men are more positive about the selection of Hegseth than Republican women. Older Republicans are also more likely to approve of Hegseth’s nomination than younger Republicans.
Looking broadly at what makes for a good presidential advisor, about half say it’s a somewhat or very bad thing for the president to rely on people without any background in government. Only 23% say it’s a very or somewhat good thing.
Republicans, however, are more likely than Democrats or independents to say it is good for the president to rely on people without government experience for input on policy.
The nationwide poll was conducted January 9-13, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,147 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Few approve of Hegseth’s nomination as Secretary of Defense” (January 2025). [https://apnorc.org/projects/few-approve-of-hegseths-nomination-as-secretary-of-defense/]
