Pete Hegseth fights for his job by reminding everybody that Donald Trump gave the orders

Testosterone-obsessed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has spent months declaring which Americans deserve to serve, returned to the Pentagon briefing room Tuesday morning to defend his own position.

In his first Pentagon news conference since May, Hegseth delivered a performance in which he attacked the Republican pursuing his impeachment, praised President Donald Trump and portrayed scrutiny of his decisions as a threat to the troops. Behind the defiance, he acknowledged an effort to shore up support on Capitol Hill.

“We’ve been in touch with a lot of members,” he said. “There’s a ton of support.”

The appearance followed Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s introduction Monday of eight impeachment articles alleging unauthorized warfare, unlawful killings, and other abuses.

The House began considering Massie’s resolution late Tuesday afternoon, with a procedural vote expected in the evening. Republican leaders were seeking to block the effort; if it survives, a final impeachment vote could follow Wednesday.

Hegseth answered allegations about the legality of military operations largely by asserting their success.

“These are not high crimes,” he said. “This is the job, and it’s the job well done.”

Hegseth blames Trump for all orders

Hegseth also placed Trump at the beginning of the chain of responsibility. Addressing operations involving Iran, the cartels, Venezuela and Yemen, he described them as “ordered by the commander in chief, then ordered by myself.”

Invoking Trump’s approval has endangered his Cabinet officials. In March, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Congress that Trump had approved a $220 million advertising campaign prominently featuring her. Trump denied knowing about it and announced her replacement shortly afterward. AP reported that the advertising controversy and other leadership failures contributed to her firing.

Hegseth repeatedly tied his political survival to the welfare of those under his command.

“Put the secretary on trial today and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow,” he said. “If they want to come for the warriors, they’re going to have to come through me.”

That expansive promise of protection followed a narrower definition of who belongs in uniform.

As The Advocate reported, Hegseth again declared Thursday that “being trans is a mental illness incompatible with military service.” Being transgender is not a psychiatric diagnosis, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

His anti-trans rhetoric could also require answers under oath.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, overseeing a challenge to the transgender military ban, ordered Hegseth to answer written questions and warned that inadequate responses could lead to a deposition, The Advocate previously reported.

Reyes has conceded the constraints on a defense secretary’s schedule. But she observed, “he has time to tweet, and he has time to put out videos.” She left open the possibility of a limited deposition but did not order one.

Hegseth’s Tuesday appearance demonstrated that he also has time to rally support for his tenure.

House impeachment alone would not end it. Removal would require conviction by two-thirds of senators present.

If that happened, running the Pentagon would no longer compete for his time, including any time a judge might require him to spend answering questions about the troops he has tried to force out ahead of January’s trial.