Claim:
In August 2025, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth donated $12.9 million to a series of homeless support centers in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Rating:
In August 2025, a rumor spread online that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth donated $12.9 million in bonuses and sponsorship earnings to homeless support centers in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Snopes readers also searched for information about the claim on our website.
For example, one Facebook page said that Hegseth's donation would support the creation of housing units and shelter beds:
BREAKING NEWS: Fox News host Pete Hegseth has donated his entire $12.9 million bonus and sponsorship earnings to fund a series of homeless support centers in Minneapolis, his hometown. The initiative will help create 150 housing units and 300 shelter beds for those in need. "I've seen people trying to survive the brutal Minnesota winters without a roof over their heads, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I'd step up," Hegseth said during an emotional press conference. "No one should have to sleep outside in that kind of cold."
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122119786838931510&set=a.122094519902931510
The top comment on the post, which had amassed more than 6,800 shares as of this writing, linked to an -filled article that repeated the claim. The site stated:
For Hegseth, this isn't just about charity — it's about dignity, compassion, and taking real action where it matters most. His donation will fully fund the first phase of the Minneapolis Shelter & Hope Initiative, a multi-year project partnering with local non-profits, housing authorities, and faith-based organizations to tackle homelessness from multiple angles: housing, job training, mental health services, and addiction recovery programs.
It also quoted Hegseth as saying: "I've seen people trying to survive the brutal Minnesota winters without a roof over their heads ... I promised myself years ago that if I ever had the chance, I'd step up. And today, I can finally do that. No one should have to sleep outside in that kind of cold."
Other examples of the rumor appeared elsewhere on Facebook, where one post had amassed more than 76,000 reactions as of this writing.
However, there was no evidence supporting the rumor and there was no independent news coverage of the donation that, if it were authentic, would have been widely covered by the news media. As such, we have rated this claim as false.
Snopes reached out to the Department of Defense for comment. We will update this post if we get more information.
A Google news search produced no evidence of Hegseth ever making the above statement, while another search uncovered zero results suggesting that the "Minneapolis Shelter & Hope Initiative" referenced in the article was real. It was also not possible to find any YouTube videos of the news conference that the article claimed was where the defense secretary made the above statement.
The story spread as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a "crime emergency" in Washington, D.C., and as he deployed the National Guard in the capital, an action that some fear would put homeless people behind bars. During a Fox News interview on Aug. 11, Hegseth described how the National Guard would assist local law enforcement in moving homeless tents. When asked (at the 5:25 time stamp) if he knew where the people would go, he said: "That's not really my lane. Our job is to stand alongside law enforcement."
As we've reported before, such stories resemble glurge, which Dictionary.com defines as "stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental." Such stories aim to earn advertising revenue on websites linked to from Facebook posts.
This is not the first time a rumor has spread connecting such a donation to a famous person. Snopes has also reported on the false claim that ice hockey star Connor McDavid donated $12.9 million for homeless centers in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta.
Sources:
"Glurge." Dictionary.Com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Trump Said DC Police Can 'Do Whatever the Hell They Want.'" Snopes, 12 Aug. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-dc-police-whatever-they-want/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
Izzo, Jack. "NHL Star Connor McDavid Donated $12.9M for Homeless Centers?" Snopes, 12 Aug. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/homeless-centers-donation-nhl-connor-mcdavid/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
Mann, Brian. "Advocates Fear Trump's Crackdown in D.C. Will Put Many Homeless People behind Bars." NPR, 13 Aug. 2025. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/08/13/nx-s1-5500538/trump-crackdown-dc-homeless-advocates-jail. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
'Trump's "Got the Guts" to Do This: Pete Hegseth | Fox News Video'. Fox News, 11 Aug. 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6376809414112.
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0eIBKohvOE. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.
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