Hegseth Posts Defiant ‘Defend the Republic’ Video as Massie Renews Impeachment Push
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a defiant five-minute video from the Pentagon steps Thursday, vowing to “stand,” “fight,” and “defend this republic” as midterm fallout and impeachment talk close in.
“We have only just begun to fight,” Hegseth said in the clip reported by the Washington Examiner. “We are more determined than ever, more resolute than ever to finish what we have started.”
He defended the Iran war as a “courageous and historic effort that will ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon” and called on Congress to pass a $1.5 trillion defense budget, Federal News Network reported.
“They attack me, they attack us, because we are effective. It’s not going to work. We will not back down,” Hegseth said, adding the fight continues “in the lame duck Congress.”
The video is his first public statement on Tuesday’s midterms, which Democrats used to retake both chambers amid voter anger over the Iran conflict and living costs.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who will leave office after a primary loss, plans to refile articles of impeachment next week. Massie previously argued Hegseth engaged in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, according to Federal News Network and the Associated Press.
Hegseth called Massie a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” and branded the articles a “sham,” saying critics pursue “the politics of personal destruction.”
“Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me,” he said, per Federal News Network.
Trump has publicly backed Hegseth, telling reporters he has “done a fantastic job,” BBC News reported, even as some Republicans urge a change at the Pentagon.
Speculation that Hegseth could fill Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Tennessee seat when she becomes governor is not matching reality inside the process, an AP source said.
The Associated Press reported Hegseth is not currently under consideration for the appointment; a person familiar with the talks called the chatter baseless and said Blackburn is focused on her transition.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, told the Associated Press he wants to be considered for the seat.
After Hegseth’s video, Pentagon political appointees circulated “Stand. Fight. Defend the Republic” graphics, and the White House posted related praise, the Associated Press reported.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth is “100% committed” to leading the department through Trump’s term “despite threats of sham witch hunts from Democrats.”
With Democrats taking the gavels in January, Hegseth’s defiant tape sets up a lame-duck fight over impeachment, Iran, and whether Trump keeps his war secretary in place.
Vice President JD Vance said on social media Wednesday that “the reason we lost is the war,” putting Hegseth’s Iran portfolio at the center of the GOP autopsy, Federal News Network noted.
In the video Hegseth also attacked DEI policies and other “sacred cow” initiatives he says the Pentagon ended, casting the midterm backlash as proof enemies hate results, not process.
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