He’s no longer behind the Fox News desk — but Pete Hegseth is still making headlines, this time for something far from politics or television. Now serving as U.S. Secretary of Defense, the former Fox host has stunned Americans with a mission that’s as personal as it is patriotic: building 77 homes for veterans, with his own hands.

In a rare move for a Cabinet official, Hegseth spent the past year slipping away from Washington between official duties, trading pressed uniforms for work gloves and construction boots. There were no cameras, no speeches — just the hum of power tools and the sound of laughter from veterans who never thought they’d have a home again.

“You can’t understand the cost of freedom until you look one of these heroes in the eye,” Hegseth said quietly during a visit to a construction site in Texas. “This isn’t charity — it’s payback.”

According to sources close to him, the project began after Hegseth met a former Marine sergeant who’d been living out of his truck near Fort Hood. The encounter left him shaken. “He told me, ‘Sir, I fought for this country, but it forgot me,’” Hegseth later recalled. “That stayed with me. I realized I couldn’t just talk about helping veterans — I had to build something for them.”

Partnering with Building Homes for Heroes, Hegseth set out on what insiders say became a near-obsession: personally helping to construct 77 homes for wounded and displaced veterans across 13 states. Volunteers describe seeing the Secretary of Defense hammering nails, hauling drywall, and even sleeping on-site during the final phase of construction.

The emotional climax came in Florida, where Hegseth helped a double-amputee Army sergeant raise an American flag over his new porch. Witnesses say the moment brought him to tears. The veteran turned to him and said, “You didn’t just build a house. You gave me back my dignity.”

“That moment — that’s the real reward,” Hegseth later told reporters. “Not the office, not the title. Just that feeling of giving something back.”

Despite his Cabinet position, Hegseth reportedly kept the initiative quiet from the media — and even from some colleagues in the Pentagon. The story only broke when local outlets began sharing footage of him on construction sites, dust-covered and smiling beside veteran volunteers.

Back at Fox News, where Hegseth spent years as one of the network’s most recognizable conservative voices, his former colleagues reacted with admiration. One longtime producer said, “I’ve seen Pete fight battles on-air, but this is the fight that defines him. This is who he really is.”

Another former co-host added, “He’s doing what he’s always preached — service, faith, and follow-through. You can’t fake that.”

During one build in Tennessee, a retired Army medic approached Hegseth and handed him a weathered patch from his old uniform. “You’ve earned this more than I did,” the man told him. Hegseth tried to refuse, but the veteran insisted. The patch, still stained with dirt and blood, now sits framed in Hegseth’s office — a quiet reminder of the mission that’s come to define him.

“I call that my medal,” Hegseth said softly. “Because service doesn’t end when you hang up the uniform. It just changes form.”

As the homes fill with families and laughter, Hegseth says he’s already planning the next phase — expanding the project to reach 100 homes by next year.

“This is my real mission now,” he told supporters. “Helping the people who helped all of us. And we’re just getting started.”