Financial Disclosure Reveals How Much Pete Hegseth Was Making at Fox News
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News morning show host Pete Hegseth, revealed his former salary in a financial disclosure ahead of his confirmation hearing, providing a rare look into a cable news host’s earnings.
The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr shared a portion of Hegseth’s disclosure on X Monday, which showed his Fox News salary to be just a bit over $4.6 million over a two-year period. Hegseth’s impressive haul came from his role at Fox News as one of three co-hosts on Fox & Friends Weekend as well as his work with Fox News Books.
His earnings paled in comparison to Fox’s Sean Hannity, who reportedly earns $25 million a year. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reportedly took a pay cut recently from $30 million a year to $25 million a year as well while only hosting her show once a week – although she is returning full-time for the first 100 days of Trump’s second administration.
Hegseth’s confirmation remains one of the more hotly contested ones as many Democratic senators vehemently oppose it, primarily citing past sexual harassment claims and a lack of experience.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former Navy captain and astronaut, told NBC News recently “the biggest problem I have is he just doesn’t seem prepared in any way to do this job.”
“He is not qualified to do the job,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) last week. Duckworth, an Iraq combat veteran, said during Hegseth’s hearing the “whole focus is going to be on his qualifications and experience in managing an organization. … He has managed fewer people than the manager of an Applebees.”
Last month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Meet the Press that he expects Hegseth to release the woman he paid for silence following a sexual assault allegation from the non-disclosure agreement they signed. “He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham said. “Just think about what we’re talking about; I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”
Hegseth is likely to face additional questions regarding his alleged heavy drinking, which was noticed by his Fox News colleagues. Questions about his actions while serving in the Army, for which he was awarded multiple honors including the Bronze Star, are also all but guaranteed to come up.
The AP reported on Monday, “If Pete Hegseth were still in uniform, his extramarital affairs and a decision to flatly ignore a combat commander’s directive would not just be drawing the attention of senators — they could have run afoul of military law.”
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect that Hegseth’s $4.6 million salary was earned over a two-year period.
