Hegseth Responds to Claim the Iran War Cost Republicans the Midterms: No Finger-Pointing, the Strike Was Necessary

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took questions from reporters on November 9 after delivering remarks at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. The vice president had posted that he met with pollsters who believe the top reason Republicans lost the midterms was the Iran war. Asked for his reaction, and whether he had spoken with the vice president about it, Hegseth said he appreciates the vice president very much and would not get in the middle of a finger-pointing exercise, noting the vice president has been an incredibly substantive member of the team from the very beginning and that everyone gives earnest feedback on everything.

Hegseth said that, ultimately, when the president says he would do it again, he agrees. He said the action did not have to be popular, but it could be necessary: someone had to confront the Iranian regime's pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and for 47 years no president was willing to do it until President Trump stood up and said, not on my watch. Iran, he said, was building a conventional missile shield and pursuing the North Korea strategy of building up so many capabilities that it could not be stopped from getting a nuclear weapon, and the president's position was that Iran could not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. He called Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury the bold move the president made and the right step, and said the military delivered and history will judge the president very kindly.

Asked what Republicans need to accomplish for the War Department before Democrats take over, Hegseth said the funding the department needs is the most important component of the next two months. He called on Republicans to come together through a reconciliation bill to fund President Trump's War Department with a historic generational investment, from super intelligence (SI) to space to Iron Dome to munitions to shipbuilding, ensuring the department does not just stay toe to toe but dominates into the future, which is what the president expects.

On Iran, Hegseth said Iran is devastated and in the weakest position it has been in a very, very long time, and that the president has the upper hand on any path he chooses, including declaring the effort done while watching Iran's nuclear material. Asked whether he has enough Republican support to defeat articles of impeachment this week, Hegseth said, "We're not worried about that," and invited reporters to a Pentagon press conference on the topic on the morning of November 10, saying he would save his remarks for then.

Hegseth's remarks at the Naval War College that day concerned senior service college reform. He told reporters the work had been in preparation for almost 18 months, with teams sent to the institutions to understand what works and what does not and to drive the warrior ethos into the service colleges; the speech, he said, was more of a starting gun for substantial changes to come, putting the War Department back on sound footing at every level. The War Department released its professional military education reform directives the same day, which GSM has reported separately.

(Source: U.S. Department of War)

Related:

Follow-up: Trump Defends Hegseth in Truth Social Post, Says He Should Be Praised, Not Impeached

Hegseth Orders Sweeping Reform of Professional Military Education

Secretary of War Hegseth to Hold Pentagon Press Conference on November 10

Source: U.S. Department of War

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：美国战争部总部五角大楼航拍（资料图），远景为华盛顿纪念碑。美国政府作品，公共领域，经 GSM 联邦核心固定图库。 / Photo: Aerial view of the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of War (file photo), with the Washington Monument in the distance. U.S. Government work, public domain, via the GSM federal core asset pack.

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