Hegseth seeks $350B for military as he defends decisions amid impeachment push from Democrats

War Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Congress on Thursday for another $350 billion in military funding, while also defending his leadership decisions at the War Department amid an impeachment push driven by Democrats.

Hegseth defended the Iran war as being necessary to prevent the Middle Eastern country from getting nuclear weapons, and dismissed the impeachment push as political theater over his decision to end Democratic priorities such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Pentagon. 

"DEI is a Marxist ideology built to destroy us, so we crushed it," Hegseth said in a video on X. "Diversity is not our strength, our unity is. Men and women are not the same thing. But in the military, they must be held to the same standards."

The secretary defended his decision to remove transgender troops from the military, stating it was a "mental illness" that was not compatible with the military, and insisted combatting climate change should not be a military objective.

"Sealing the border and mass deportations are military functions and when we say that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, we actually mean it," he said. "We will do the hard work to ensure it under the leadership of President Trump. Because regardless of how people feel about the war, which I believe is a courageous and historic effort that will ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, we need to continue .... to rebuild our military. That requires funding.

"The Department of War must be funded to meet the moment right now," he continued. "That includes a generational investment, a reconciliation bill of at least $350 billion to keep this department, our country, way ahead in a dangerous world."

Hegseth said he needs "every vote from every patriotic member of Congress," and claimed the Democrats attack him because he's effective at his job and insisted it would not work.

"We put America and the warfighter first, always and without apology," he said, adding that it would remain true in a Democratic congress.

The budget request comes after Democrats won back control of both chambers of Congress this week in the midterm elections. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.