Pentagon employees mobilize support for Hegseth via social media... and two sources explain to Ofoq News the details

On Thursday, public affairs staff and advisors to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth published photos of him widely across social media platforms, accompanied by a single phrase: “Stand up.” This campaign appears to be part of an “offensive defense” of Hegseth ahead of an expected impeachment battle.

In a statement to the Ofoq News network, Joel Valdez, deputy spokesman for the Pentagon, said that the ministry’s main spokesman, Sean Parnell, “brought together the team to develop a plan to defend Secretary Hegseth and the president’s agenda in the most rigorous and powerful way, along with planned offensive moves that will determine the features of the next phase.” He added: “The full scope of this strategy will not be revealed.” About a dozen civilian public affairs employees and advisors participated in the campaign, in addition to the department's official account dedicated to rapid response, along with accounts of people who have worked or are still working with Hegseth, including an Army lieutenant colonel who is still on active duty.

The White House social media account also posted a video clip showing Hegseth, including Trump praising him. In this context, a senior administration official told Ofoq News: “The Pentagon and the White House made their position clear tonight. They are pushing with all their might to support Hegseth, and this in itself sums up everything that needs to be known.”

This digital campaign came a few hours after Hegseth published a video clip on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), in which he appeared standing on the steps of the Pentagon building defiantly, criticizing what he described as the “false efforts” led by members of Congress to isolate him. “From the Ministry of War: We stand, we fight, we defend the Republic,” Hegseth said, using the alternative historical designation for the Ministry of Defence.

The House of Representatives may vote, perhaps as early as next week, on impeaching Hegseth, while Republican Representative from Kentucky, Thomas Massie - a lawmaker known for his opposition to Trump and close to leaving office - told Ofoq News that he intends to put a measure to impeach Hegseth to a vote as soon as Congress returns to session, while multiple Republican sources indicated their expectations that this measure would pass.