The Secretary of State is often regarded as the Cabinet officer of pivotal importance. But it is really the Secretary of Defense who commands the most consequential portfolio. He has power over some of the most significant parts of the U.S. economy, the lives of countless men and women, the basic social engineering of millions of diverse Americans, any number of technological revolutions in progress, and the mechanics of the deployment of more personnel and equipment than any other endeavor on earth, not to mention the strategic well-being of the nation.
That job is now held by Pete Hegseth.
Everybody in the past who’s held the job, successfully or not, has had extensive military, corporate, or political experience. Each has had careers that logically placed them in the post. Because the job is so do-or-die, no president, in the modern age, has chosen to appoint anyone who might be considered an outlier.
Until Trump.