Pete Hegseth Meets the Media for First Time as Secretary of Defense — Vows to Execute Trump’s Orders ‘Without Excuse’

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the media for the first time since being sworn in and vowed to carry out President Donald Trump’s orders “swiftly and without excuse.”

Hegseth was confirmed on Friday by the narrowest possible margin when Vice President JD Vance cast the vote to break a 50-50 tie in the Senate, after three Republicans – including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – voted against him. The vote concluded a process that saw Hegseth face allegations of alcohol abuse, financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct.

Outside the Pentagon on Monday, however, Hegseth gave a confident speech in which he repeated that serving in the role was an “honor of a lifetime” and promised to carry out Trump’s reforms.

Today there are more executive orders coming that we fully support, on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America. This is happening quickly. And as the Secretary of Defense, it’s an honor to salute smartly, as I did as a junior officer and now as the Secretary of Defense, to ensure these orders are complied with rapidly and quickly.

Every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers. Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting.

We’re going to hold people accountable. I know the chairman agrees with that. The lawful orders of the President of the United States will be executed inside this Defense Department swiftly and without excuse. We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us and try us. So, Mr. Chairman, thanks for welcoming me today. I look forward to serving the troops, the warriors of this department. It’s the honor of a lifetime, and we’re going to get to work.

Following his address, several members of the media asked questions, including whether troops would be sent to the Southern border. Hegseth replied:

Whatever is needed at the border will be provided, whether that is through state active duty, Title 32 or Title 10, because we are reorienting. This is a shift. This is not the way business has been done in the past. The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America at the southern border to include reservists, National Guard, and active duty in compliance with the Constitution, the laws of our land, and the directives of the Commander-in-Chief.

Asked whether he was looking at the possibility that Trump may invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows for the deployment of military within the United States, Hegseth deferred to the executive branch: “Those will be decisions made by the White House. I look forward to conversations about anything we need to do to ensure we’re securing our southern border.”

Watch above via CNN.