Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a speech on his SNS account Thursday (local time) shrugging off the impeachment motion against him as a "political show," touting his record at the Pentagon and demanding Congress allocate around $350 billion in defense funding. [Hegseth's X account]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a speech on his SNS account Thursday (local time) shrugging off the impeachment motion against him as a "political show," touting his record at the Pentagon and demanding Congress allocate around $350 billion in defense funding. [Hegseth's X account]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a speech video on his SNS account Thursday (local time) shrugging off the impeachment motion against him as a "political show" while demanding Congress allocate around $350 billion in defense funding. Two days after an election defeat for which he has been widely blamed — over his push for war with Iran — Hegseth went on the offensive.

In the speech, Hegseth said he had delivered results since taking over the US Department of Defense, citing the elimination of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies, a reshaping of military leadership and a rebuilding of recruitment. He dismissed the ongoing impeachment motion against him in Congress as a "political show."

A House impeachment motion against Hegseth filed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is currently pending. Massie introduced the motion in September, alleging that Hegseth violated Congress's war powers authority during the Iran war and abused his authority in other military operations. The Democratic Party is said to be planning to bring the motion to a vote as early as next week when Congress reconvenes. Hegseth brushed off the motion, calling it "a losing lawmaker venting frustration alongside Democratic forces with a bogus impeachment motion" and a "political show."

Hegseth insisted he had done his utmost to advance Donald Trump's agenda in the military sphere and defended the war with Iran. "Former President Joe Biden and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin threw the Defense Department into chaos, and as a result the Trump administration had to rebuild the military," he said. "We ended the weird and 'woke' — meaning overly focused on guarding against discrimination and bias — and put patriots in positions of strength."

He referred to the Iran war, which many blame for the election defeat, as a "military operation," claiming it was a historic effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It was a restatement of the Trump administration's argument that the war was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Going further, he said "we need at least $350 billion to strengthen the military and the defense industrial base," adding, "We need every single vote from every patriotic member of Congress" to pass the budget. The demand for additional defense spending came even after the election made clear the depth of public opposition to the war.

Hegseth signaled once again that he had no intention of backing down in the face of outside criticism. Addressing service members, he urged them to "don't blink, ignore the noise, never hesitate," adding, "We will not retreat. We always put America and the warfighter first — unapologetically."


kate01@heraldcorp.com