“Thanks to the victory over Venezuela and Iran.” Trump’s first comment on the failure of efforts to remove his Defense Minister

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump celebrated the House of Representatives’ rejection of Republican Representative Thomas Massie’s efforts to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and attacked the representative only minutes after those efforts failed in the House chamber. Trump wrote on his platform, "Truth Social": "The Democrats' attempt to remove Secretary of War Pete Hegseth failed miserably. All Republicans - except Thomas Massie, a big loser - voted for Pete."

Trump added: "Once again, victories in Venezuela and Iran, achieving the best numbers in the history of military recruitment, long waiting lists to join, and morale never seen before have vindicated a great American patriot. Democrats continue to use state institutions as a weapon and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped. Make America great again." Sources told Ufoq News Network that Republican Party leaders, along with officials in the White House, worked intensely behind the scenes to prevent a vote that might be an embarrassment to Trump. Trump had expressed his strong support for Hegseth before the vote, writing on Monday: “The defeated Republican Representative Thomas Massie - a loser by all standards - is trying to remove Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War who is perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the country.”

Trump also told Ufoq News anchor Caitlan Collins that he "will stand by Hegseth if he is subjected to impeachment proceedings." For his part, the Pentagon's main spokesman, Sean Parnell, celebrated the Republicans' success, describing what happened as a "complete victory." However, a source familiar with Hegseth's trends indicated that the battle may not be over yet.

Parnell said in a post on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “This attempt, from its inception, was merely a political exercise that lacked any basis, evidence, or seriousness. It collapses in the face of Secretary Hegseth’s track record of re-establishing the warrior spirit, achieving tangible results, and giving priority to the military mission,” adding: “The American people realize the reality of these attempts.”

In a related context, a source familiar with Hegseth’s thinking told Ofoq News that the minister and his team expect the Democrats to try to move forward with impeachment procedures next year, when they have the majority in Congress, but they also expect that this will be preceded by hearings and investigations.