Pete Hegseth Says He Wouldn’t Trust Marco Rubio or Stephen Miller to Babysit His Children

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had some fun at the expense of a few of his colleagues while chatting about family life on The Katie Miller Podcast. Hegseth, 45, shares seven children with his wife, Jen Hegseth, who joined him for the episode.

Host Katie Miller — who is married to Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller — asked Pete which members of the Trump administration he’d feel comfortable leaving in charge of his kids.

“Oh, I mean, not your husband or Marco,” Pete replied with a laugh, referring to Stephen and the Secretary of State. His answer sparked laughter from both Katie and Jen.

Pete went on to say he would trust Vice President JD Vance or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to watch the children. He noted that he’s known Duffy “for years” from their time working together at Fox News. He also mentioned Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as people he’d be comfortable leaving his kids with. The Department of Defense, which the Trump administration has rebranded as the Department of War, is currently under his leadership.

When Katie followed up by asking which officials would get “totally rolled by the Hegseth kids,” Pete said it would probably be “the ones the kids thought they knew the best and they felt most comfortable with,” before circling back to name Rubio and Duffy.

Although Pete joked that Stephen wouldn’t be his first pick for babysitting duty, he did single him out as the person most likely to call in a late-night crisis.

Katie agreed immediately: “One hundred percent.” Pete added, “Stephen, you know it’s true. You know it’s true. There’s others on the list, but he’s on top of the mountaintop.”

Hegseth has been married three times and is a father to four biological children and three stepchildren. He married his high school girlfriend Meredith Schwarz in 2004; they divorced in 2008 after he allegedly acknowledged having multiple affairs, according to The New Yorker.

He later married Samantha Deering in 2010, and the pair welcomed three children before separating. Pete and Jen quietly welcomed a daughter in August 2017, after which Deering filed for divorce, according to Vanity Fair.

Jen, who had three children of her own before their relationship, married Hegseth at Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck, New Jersey, in August 2019.

In a 2024 interview with Birmingham Christian Family, Pete said he doesn’t view his family through the lens of step-relations, explaining that “there are no ‘steps’ or ‘halves’ in the Hegseth clan.”

He frequently posts about his family life on Instagram, sharing moments from holidays, sports outings and other family activities. In early November, he shared a photo of the whole crew watching the Washington Commanders together.

All seven of Pete and Jen’s children were present when he was sworn in as defense secretary in January 2025. Jen marked the occasion by posting photos from the day, including shots of their kids inside the White House and standing beside Pete as he took his oath.