Pete Hegseth made more than $2 million annually as a Fox News host before he left to pursue a Cabinet bid, according to records reported by the Washington Post on Monday.
Hegseth, whose Senate confirmation hearing is set to begin Tuesday for his secretary of defense nomination by President-elect Donald Trump, was paid $4.6 million over about two years on a financial disclosure document, the newspaper’s Jeremy Barr shared on X.
That would pale in comparison to the $246,000 he would earn to oversee the nation’s armed forces, The Daily Beast reported.
But the disparity in pay may be the least of Hegseth’s problems. He may experience an uphill battle to actually get confirmed.
Hegseth, a military veteran, has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse that alarmed coworkers on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
He still has Trump’s support but he won’t have a comfy TV payday to lean on if he wins over the Senate.
His pay cut would not be as massive as former colleague Sean Hannity’s might have been if the high-profile host had been nominated by Trump for a post. (Around a dozen and a half Fox News alums were tapped for possible positions in the incoming administration.)
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According to a Forbes report in 2020, Hannity made a reported $25 million per year.
HuffPost has reached out to Fox News for comment.
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