Full press conference: Hegseth calls impeachment effort a 'political spectacle,' defends operations

[0:01] Well, good morning. I'll get right to it. What one disgruntled and defeated congressman [0:13] is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, [0:20] a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man's final days in Congress [0:27] to try to do damage to this president, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors [0:34] who defend it. It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it. In the 250 years of [0:44] our American republic, no secretary of war or secretary of defense has ever been impeached [0:50] for carrying out lawful military operations. And in our case, successful ones at that, [1:00] not once. War powers resolution or not, not under Reagan in Lebanon, not under Clinton [1:06] in Kosovo, not under Obama in Iraq and Syria, not under Biden in Iraq and Syria. That's [1:13] the standard. The history is clear, and it's very straightforward. And one disgruntled congressman [1:20] wants to shred it over policy disagreements. That's what it is, policy disagreements. Not [1:27] high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders [1:34] intended when they wrote the impeachment clause. The proper remedy for a policy disagreement, [1:39] it's legislation. It's debate. It's the next presidential election. It's not handing the [1:46] House and Senate floor to the Democrats so that they can run a show trial against the president [1:52] and the secretary of war while Republicans still control Congress and should be delivering wins [1:58] for the American people. You see, we've seen this show before. They impeached President Trump [2:05] over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times, [2:11] they failed. Both times, he came back stronger. And the American people sent him back to the White [2:18] House. Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet. They will fail [2:24] again. And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every day [2:31] of the week. Let's be clear about what this resolution actually does. It tells our enemies, [2:39] Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching that the United States will actually punish its own warriors [2:45] and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations. It tells them [2:53] that a single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus for the president can attempt to veto [3:00] national security decisions made by the duly elected commander in chief. It puts a target [3:06] on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real [3:12] time. This is not patriotism. This is sabotage. You know, five years ago, America was humiliated in [3:21] Kabul, Afghanistan, and every enemy on earth took notice. But somehow, as the president pointed out [3:28] yesterday, no impeachment vote for Lloyd Austin for that terrible withdrawal. Not even one vote. [3:36] Or no impeachment vote for when he went AWOL for over a week. No impeachment vote for when he let a [3:43] Chinese spy balloon fly over the country for over a week. See, President Trump ended that kind of [3:49] wokeness and weakness, peace through strength, not as a slogan, but as a way of war. The Houthis found [3:57] out first. They fired on American ships. Biden had let it happen. President Trump said no more. [4:04] Operation Rough Rider hit them more than a thousand times. They cried, uncle, and they stopped shooting [4:09] at our ships to this day. Iran found out next. Operation Midnight Hammer, B-2s from the heartland, [4:18] halfway around the world, straight into Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Flawless. The largest and most [4:25] successful B-2 strike in American history. Nuclear sites obliterated. Later in Operation Epic Fury, [4:32] by every measure, we achieved a historic military victory. Under 40 days of sustained combat, more [4:40] than 13,000 targets struck, their navy sunk, their air force grounded, their defense industrial base [4:46] gone, more than 80 percent of their nuclear industrial base gone, their military in ruin, [4:53] the ironclad blockade unbroken. We control the Strait of Hormuz. Crazy Islamists in Tehran will never, [5:02] ever have a nuclear weapon. A historic effort only made possible by a courageous commander-in-chief. [5:11] History will judge the Iran war quite differently than conventional wisdom right now. We didn't start [5:17] this war. Iran did 47 years ago. But President Trump is willing to do what no other president [5:24] would. He did the tough right thing, not for politics, but for the safety and the security [5:31] of the American people. That's leadership. He did not kick the can. He kicked their teeth in. [5:40] For generation, my generation, fought other Middle Eastern wars that dragged on for years, [5:47] for decades. We lost thousands, thousands of Americans. I wear the bracelet of one of them [5:56] on my left wrist every single day. It reminds me. And may I remind you, for perspective, [6:06] we lost 60,000 Americans in Vietnam over 20 years. We lost 37,000 in Korea in just three years. [6:19] That many humans are lost on the front lines of Ukraine and Russia every month. This epic fury [6:29] has never been that, and it never will be. The media can just never admit the military success [6:36] because they, you, hate the president more than you love our country or our troops. [6:45] Then in our own hemisphere, we started at home. From day one, President Trump made homeland security, [6:50] national security. We sent American troops to lock down the southwest border [6:54] and choked off the cartel pipeline of human smuggling, of drugs, and death. And then we took [7:01] the fight to them. The cartels thought they could just poison the American people and hide from [7:07] justice. So we formed a counter-cartel coalition, designated them terrorists, and hunted them at sea, [7:14] and now on land. More than 70 narco vessels sunk. 218 narco terrorists dead where they should be. [7:24] Maritime smuggling down at least 65% and dropping even further. Thousands of American lives saved with [7:32] every drug boat sunk and every shipment prevented. Indicted and wanted, Nicolas Maduro thought he was [7:42] untouchable. He was not kidnapped. He was brought to justice by America's best. Victory in one night, [7:51] victory in 48 minutes to be precise. And today he sits in front of an American judge in New York City. [7:59] Flawless success. Panama kicked China's Belt and Road Initiative to the curb, and we, along with them, [8:07] control the canal. The message is simple. This is our hemisphere. Act accordingly. [8:14] Our NATO allies, after decades of riding on the American taxpayer in Europe, committed to 5% [8:20] of GDP for their own defense. Our allies are finally stepping up. Out with being a burden, [8:27] in with burden sharing. Why? Because President Trump demanded it. America is the only country on earth, [8:36] and this military, the only one that could successfully execute and lead all of these [8:41] operations and efforts. Sheer success. Victories in both Venezuela and Iran. Energy security in our [8:50] hemisphere in a way none thought possible for a generation. And no nuclear bomb for Iran ever. [8:59] But of course, security doesn't come free. Nobody was lost in the mission in Venezuela, but 18 Americans [9:06] have given their lives in Operation Epic Fury. We know their names. I've been to Dover. We honor them [9:13] every day, but their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve. As it happens, tomorrow is Veterans Day. [9:21] This year, the operators of Absolute Resolve and the warriors of Epic Fury were marked for the first [9:27] time. They stand shoulder to shoulder with the pilots of Midnight Hammer and the sailors of Rough [9:33] Rider who went before them. They answered the call. They executed. They won. And on the eve of Veterans [9:42] Day, these resolutions tell every one of them that their service was a crime. Their service was not a crime. [9:52] These are heroes. And no politician in Washington will tell them otherwise while I hold this office. [10:01] President Trump gave this department what it has not had in a generation. A commander-in-chief with [10:05] the courage to lead and the resolve to win. I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to [10:14] execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow. And while this defeated politician, defeated ironically by [10:22] a Navy SEAL, I might add. While this defeated politician drafts articles of impeachment, we've [10:29] delivered the first increase and a big one in hostile fire and imminent danger pay in more than [10:33] 20 years. We've reinstated over 600 service members who were forced out under the previous [10:38] administration's COVID mandate. All five of our services broke historic recruiting records. The Army, [10:45] the Navy, the Air Force, the Space Force, the Marines for two years in a row. In fact, the Marines in FY27 [10:51] met half of their goal on day one. Americans are lining up to serve in President Trump's Department [10:57] of War. And by the way, to those Marines and all those Marines out there, Semper Fi and happy 251st [11:04] birthday today. Two years of historic recruitment after Biden couldn't recruit anyone. Same with [11:13] retention, by the way, through the roof. That means the troops that are in are staying in, [11:18] the best of the best based on merit staying in night and day from Biden to Trump. We cut [11:25] unnecessary senior officer billets by 20% and raised combat performance standards. Through the [11:30] one big beautiful bill, we're investing in troop pay and housing and health care and advanced weapons [11:35] and equipment our warfighters actually need to win. That's the record. That's what we're defending. [11:44] Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me. Politicians in Washington have accused [11:53] the sailors and the pilots who struck narco terrorist boats of war crimes for doing their job. Senators [12:02] in cute videos have suggested the same. This resolution is the next step. Put the secretary [12:10] on trial today and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow. If they want to come for [12:19] the warriors, they're going to have to come through me. As for the articles themselves, Iran, the cartels, [12:30] Maduro, Yemen, everyone was a lawful operation ordered by the commander in chief, then ordered by [12:37] myself, notified to Congress and executed by American warriors who did their jobs. We destroyed terror [12:45] regimes capabilities. We sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in [12:51] handcuffs. These are not high crimes. This is the job and it's the job well done. For the first time in [13:02] American history, a cabinet secretary overseeing America's military is being attacked not for losing [13:09] conflicts with our enemies, but for winning them. Condemned not for defeat, but for military victory. [13:17] The disgruntled congressman even admitted this himself yesterday. No failure here, just impeachment [13:26] for success. As to the claim that the American military targets civilians, well, that is a lie [13:33] and that is a slander against every professional who flew, sailed, and fought on these missions. The only [13:40] people who target civilians are the terrorists that we hunt, and I will dignify this claim no further. [13:47] None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors. They're partisan policy disagreements from people [13:54] who want to politicize our military. We will not apologize for putting American lives first. We will [14:02] not apologize for stopping the flow of drugs that kill our citizens. We will not apologize for destroying [14:09] the capabilities of a regime that chants death to America. And if that regime makes one wrong move, [14:16] as the president said, we remain locked and loaded with the full weight and lethality of central command. We will [14:24] not apologize for restoring a military that recruits based on merit, restores real standards, and fights to win. [14:32] These resolutions are a farce. They mock the Constitution, they attack the chain of command, [14:39] and they criminalize the warfighters who execute lawful orders. This process hands our adversaries [14:46] a propaganda victory and wastes the time of Congress that should instead be focused on protecting the [14:52] American people. We will continue to do the job the American people elected President Trump to do, [14:59] protect this country, defeat our enemies, and rebuild a military worthy of the warriors who wear [15:04] the uniform. I pray each day, and I hope you do too, for our troops. They are the best of our nation. Like the [15:15] president, I will defend them with every fiber of my being every single day. That includes having their back [15:23] no matter what. So to the troops, as I've said before, don't blink, ignore the noise, never hesitate. This is all [15:34] politics. You do real things. Stay the course. May almighty God protect them always. And may our [15:44] actions today and every day bring glory to him. We will stand, we will fight, and we will defend this [15:54] republic against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And amen. And with that, I'll take a few questions. [16:04] Alexander, go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Excuse me. There's been some reporting of the IRGC [16:11] rearming in this interim period of ceasefire that has proliferated behind the blockade. And the [16:17] president has signaled that we may not resume kinetic operations. So my question is, how will the IRGC [16:24] remain degraded per the Epic Fury objectives if we are not resuming this kinetic activity? And then how [16:32] confident are you in maintaining nuclear degradation of Iran? [16:36] We can maintain oversight and nuclear degradation, as the president has talked about. We're able to [16:41] maintain oversight and visibility of those nuclear sites. And if we saw the kind of nefarious [16:45] activity that required action, we would take it. The president has made it clear about what we can [16:49] see from space and what we can read on their name tapes. So we will watch that on a lot of levels very, [16:55] very closely. As far as the blockade is concerned, it's been ironclad. Nothing has gotten through. When you [16:59] can't fund your energy economy, you have to make very difficult choices. And when you combine that [17:04] with almost no defense industrial base and a limited nuclear industrial base and the damage that was [17:10] done before that, their ability to reconstitute is much less than ours. So we know they'll attempt to. [17:15] This is the number one, the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism, committed to terrorism, [17:21] built tunnels and caves and all. We know that they're going to attempt to reconstitute. We know [17:25] that we are in a much stronger position, nonetheless, going forward. Absolutely. Yes. [17:30] Mr. Secretary, David Zier, Real America's Voice. How does it make you feel? And what kind of message [17:35] does it send to our allies in the counter-cartel coalition when our own politicians don't support [17:42] taking out the narco-traffickers that kill their own constituents? And these countries joined us even [17:49] after, almost a year after the boat strikes commenced. And they are on board with us. [17:55] These countries that joined the America's counter-cartel coalition, the ACCC, didn't just [18:00] join us and they didn't join us reluctantly. They joined us proudly and boldly and quickly because [18:05] what they saw first was leadership from the president. They saw a president reestablishing the [18:10] Monroe Doctrine, the Trump corollary. We will both stop narco-terrorists in our hemisphere and expel [18:15] malign foreign influence. That's what these countries have wanted. They just haven't had [18:19] the leadership and they haven't had capabilities. So when they saw us taking the lead with Southern [18:23] Spear on the drug boats, when they saw the operation with Nicolas Maduro, they saw what [18:28] we were capable of on the blockade around Venezuela, they said, we want in on that. That's American [18:32] leadership. We don't want China and Russia and Iran dominating our hemisphere. We'd rather [18:37] have America be our defense partner and commercial partner of choice. And so the counter-cartel [18:43] coalition has grown very quickly because of that. But you're onto an important point also. When our [18:49] politicians want to play political games insinuating that our troops may be committing war crimes or [18:54] they're not following the law when everything has been lawful from day one, they start to sow doubt or [19:01] attempt to sow doubt. And that's the same kind of doubt they want to sow inside our partners of the [19:06] ACCC as well. If you go after these cartel members in your country, maybe someone will go after you [19:10] later. And so we're working really hard with these countries to prevent that kind of lawfare, to make [19:16] sure they can get after these drug cartels that have decimated their communities. And it's the one [19:22] wonderful thing about the ACCC is it's it's mutually beneficial. They get to save their countries and [19:27] take their streets back. We get to prevent drugs and gangs from coming to our country. Both sides win in [19:33] that dynamic. I really appreciate that question. [19:35] Thank you, sir. It sounds like you feel confident in the president's support. Is that accurate? And as [19:41] another one, how do you feel about Stephen Miller becoming the new chief of staff? Are you looking [19:45] forward to working with him in that capacity? [19:46] I let the president speak for himself and I'm grateful for his support. We've never had a better [19:51] commander in chief full stop. I get to watch him every single day. He lives and breathes America [19:56] first. And it's the honor of a lifetime to be his secretary of war. Any day he'll have me, I'll be right here at [20:01] this podium. As far as Stephen Miller's concerned, uh, uh, he is an incredible American patriot and a [20:08] great friend of this department. We wouldn't have an A triple C in America's counter cartel [20:12] coalition without Stephen Miller. We wouldn't have a secure southwest border for 18 months [20:16] without what Stephen Miller has enabled. So he has, uh, we've got no better friend at the [20:21] department of war than Stephen Miller. He'll be a fantastic chief of staff. He understands the [20:26] president's agenda. He will stand, he will fight and defend this republic. And we're proud to be [20:30] right there with him all the way. Absolutely. Yes. Chuck Schumer said yesterday that he wants to put [20:36] you on trial. Um, are you expecting this in the next Congress? And I mean, what's that going to look [20:42] like when Democrats take control? I mean, what it's, it's what happens when you put people with [20:47] ideological agendas in charge of institutions. Uh, if they want to talk about America's, or excuse me, [20:53] President Trump's foreign policy and national security record, let's do it. I'll see you there. [20:58] Let's have a conversation about the success that I outlined here, which for partisan [21:02] reasons they want to take issue with. But the, uh, the ability for America to project power and [21:07] ensure security, the American people has never been better than it is right here today. And I can [21:12] tell you, if you walk inside our formations, and I've encouraged many of you to do that, [21:15] and you talk to the troops, they feel more empowered, more enabled, more backed than, than [21:20] they ever have. So if you want to talk about that, talk about our recruiting success, talk about the, [21:25] the military operations that we've undertaken successfully, uh, I'd, I'd welcome that [21:30] conversation, no doubt. Mr. Secretary, Vice President J.D. Vance says the Iran war was a [21:37] major reason why the Republicans lost in the midterms. Do you agree? Uh, I respect the vice [21:43] president greatly, and I'm certainly not going to, uh, exchange in any finger pointing. And [21:46] thankfully, politics is not really my thing. Uh, I do the department of war and making sure [21:50] we're prepared and ready. Uh, so a lot of people are going to look at the conflict, uh, and, and assess [21:55] it. And the vice president has been a critical member of the team in every aspect of this, [22:00] and we're grateful for all the input he's given me personally, uh, in our department. And I think, [22:04] uh, going forward, we're going to learn all those lessons and apply them. But I, I, I agree with what [22:09] the president said when he said, Hey, if, if, if I had to do this all over again, would we do it again? [22:14] Absolutely. It's, it, it was done for the right reasons to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. [22:19] Um, there, as, as Marco Rubio said, I think quite well, it's not necessarily, uh, popular, but it may [22:26] have been necessary. And that's certainly how I feel. It was a necessary undertaking. [22:29] Yes, Secretary Hexett, uh, a question on the impeachment effort, uh, Secretary Hexett, [22:34] a question on the impeachment effort and a question on the war. On the impeachment effort, [22:38] have you been making calls to allies on Capitol Hill, uh, to get support during this impeachment [22:43] effort? And also, on the war, it's been reported that Stephen Miller pitched himself for the job of [22:48] chief of staff, uh, on the promise that he would end the Iran war. Have you spoken to Stephen Miller [22:53] about that? Well, I talked to Stephen Miller about a lot of things, uh, at, but he's, he's busy in his [22:58] new role right now. And I look forward to meeting with him soon in particular about the ways that [23:01] we'll, we'll work together. Uh, what was the first question again? The first question was on the [23:05] impeachment effort. Have you been making calls to Capitol Hill? Well, thankfully, I think what people [23:09] misunderstand is the depth of partnership and work that we have done, uh, with House Republicans and [23:14] Senate Republicans and others that are reached, willing to reach across the aisle. I mean, [23:18] our Ledge Affairs team has been very active, obviously working with Speaker Johnson, who's [23:22] done a fantastic job in the whip, Tom Emmer. Uh, we've been in touch with a lot of members. [23:26] There, there's a, there's a ton of support. There's also an understanding that this is one [23:30] disgruntled guy who drew up some really flimsy articles that aren't grounded and actually in [23:35] the constitution or things that are high crimes and misdemeanors. And so whether they love everything [23:39] that's been done there, they don't want to vote for something that isn't real. So I'm grateful [23:43] that Republicans have been taking a real look at this and the Speaker has led on it. And, [23:47] and, uh, I appreciate that. Mike Glenn. Yes, sir. Uh, yes. Thank you, sir. Uh, [23:54] you know, uh, the impeachment, notwithstanding, the Democrats are going to run the House and the [23:58] Senate next year. Are you making any kind of moves or any kind to, uh, to reach out to them to, [24:04] you know, to try to make some sort of conciliatory piece, you know, by your needs for next year? [24:08] I would say this again, something else that gets appreciate the question that gets misconstrued [24:13] often is that we're somehow disengaged from Capitol Hill or we're not briefing Capitol Hill [24:16] or we're not talking to Republicans or we're not talking to Democrats. We've got civilian leaders [24:20] and uniform leaders up on Capitol Hill all the time. That has been the case and that will be the [24:25] case with Republicans and with Democrats. And right now we're flooding the zone because this [24:30] lame duck period is critically important for funding of our department. Uh, 350 billion at a [24:35] minimum for reconciliation is what we believe is needed to make a generational and historic [24:40] investment in this department, something or our war fighters needs. You, you talk about this circus [24:46] that one congressman has tried to unleash. Like that's one small thing over here that we deal with. [24:52] It's, it's, it's, it's nothing compared to what we're actually engaged in and dealing with, [24:57] which is ensuring operationally we're prepared all around the globe. And then we get the funding for [25:01] the troops that they need. And we're working with Speaker Johnson and we're working with [25:04] Leader Thune. We're working to all the Republicans to try to take this opportunity. We know the [25:08] Democrats won't do it. Sadly, I wish they would, uh, to take this opportunity to try to fund the [25:13] troops in a way that ensures we dominate at every domain for decades to come, which is ultimately my [25:19] job. My job's not, uh, to litigate all of this every day. It's to ensure we're funded and funded [25:24] properly, which is what the president expects every single day. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.