Hegseth Vows to Fight for Job as Trump Backs Him Amid 7-Month Iran War
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 5
Hegseth Vows to Fight for Job as Trump Backs Him Amid 7-Month Iran War
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 5
Summary
Pete Hegseth released a video from the Pentagon on Thursday vowing to keep his job as he faces a likely impeachment push in coming weeks.
Trump publicly backed the defense secretary from the Oval Office, calling his work “fantastic” and defending the 7-month Iran war that Republicans say helped drive their midterm rout.
Hegseth used the message to justify his tenure through culture-war moves — purging senior officers, ending diversity programs, banning transgender troops and expelling reporters from the Pentagon.
He also defended military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have killed scores of people, operations critics call illegal extrajudicial killings.
The show of defiance is unlikely to quiet pressure from both parties, with some prominent Republicans already urging Trump to replace him and Democrats openly mocking his effort.