Pentagon employees are mobilizing support for Hegseth via social media... and two sources explain to CNN

On Thursday, public affairs staff and advisors to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth widely circulated photos of him across social media platforms, accompanied by a single phrase: “Stand. Fight. Defend the Republic.”

This campaign appears to be part of an “aggressive defense” of Hegseth ahead of an expected impeachment battle.

In a statement to CNN, Joel Valdez, deputy spokesman for the Pentagon, said that the department’s main spokesman, Sean Parnell, “assembled 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 CNN: “The Pentagon and the White House made their position clear tonight; they are pushing with all their might to support Hegseth, and that 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, to impeach Hegseth, while Republican Representative from Kentucky, Thomas Massie - a lawmaker known for his opposition to Trump and who is close to leaving office - told CNN that he intends to put an impeachment measure for Hegseth to a vote as soon as Congress returns to session, while multiple Republican sources indicated their expectations that this measure will pass.