00:00As you know, ever since I walked up these very steps nearly two years ago,
00:06President Trump's War Department has never been afraid to lead the way.
00:11Just like the president, we don't back down, and that especially applies now.
00:17The next few months and years are critical for our department and our republic.
00:24This is about the president's America First agenda.
00:27This is about our department's peace through strength agenda.
00:32And in just two short years, under the leadership of President Trump,
00:36we have restored the Department of War to its core function, warfighting.
00:42We ripped out DEI, fired failed leaders, restored deterrence all around the globe,
00:48revived recruiting to historic levels, and we are rebuilding our military and defense industrial base.
00:54Bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.
00:59But why do the Democrats and the deep state radicals really hate us?
01:04Because we tore down their sacred cows one by one and without apology.
01:12DEI is a Marxist ideology built to destroy us, so we crushed it.
01:17Diversity is not our strength, our unity is.
01:21Men and women, they're not the same thing, but in the military, they must be held to the same standard.
01:28Strong young men who believe in something greater than themselves are admirable.
01:33Patriot extremism, it's not a thing.
01:36Patriots are now in control.
01:39Being trans is a mental illness incompatible with military service.
01:44Combating climate change is not a military objective.
01:48Military bases should not be renamed in the name of understanding white rage.
01:53The faith of our founding fathers, well, that faith belongs inside our formations.
01:59Generals work for elected civilians, not for the Pentagon bureaucracy.
02:04The press is free in America, but not free to roam our classified spaces here at the Pentagon.
02:10Narco-terrorists should die, not be caught and released.
02:15Our allies should share the burden, not be burdens themselves.
02:20Sealing the border and mass deportations are military functions.
02:25And when we say that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, we actually mean it.
02:31And we will do the hard work to ensure it under the leadership of President Trump.
02:36You see, because regardless of how people feel about the war, which I believe is a courageous and historic effort
02:43that will ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,
02:45We need to continue, as President Trump did in his first term, to rebuild our military.
02:53That requires funding.
02:55And the Department of War must be funded to meet the moment right now.
03:00That includes a generational investment, a reconciliation bill of at least $350 billion,
03:06to keep this department, our country, way ahead in a dangerous world.
03:12We need every vote from every patriotic member of Congress.
03:17You see, they attack me, they attack us, because we are effective.
03:24It's not going to work.
03:25We will not back down.
03:26We put America and the warfighter first, always and without apology.
03:32And that fight continues in the lame duck Congress, especially our historic and vitally important budget.
03:40You see, Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin left our country and this department in a terrible place.
03:47And we have had to fight every single day to restore it.
03:51We ended the weird and the woke and elevated patriots and strength.
03:56And we've done so, as I said, without hesitation.
04:00Peace through strength is, once again, American military policy.
04:03Our commander-in-chief demands it, and so we deliver it.
04:08This is not about me.
04:09But, of course, the other side, in case you've noticed, they're obsessed.
04:15A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies,
04:20has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly.
04:25Just like they tried against President Trump twice.
04:29You see, their policies don't work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power
04:35drives them to try to destroy their opponents.
04:38It's all about the politics of personal destruction.
04:41Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me.
04:45You can rest assured of that.
04:48To the troops, don't blink.
04:52Ignore the noise.
04:53Never hesitate.
04:55You see, all this is politics.
04:57You do real things.
04:59So stay the course.
05:01And as always, President Trump leads the way.
05:05In service of our nation, he has endured more than anyone can fathom.
05:10He literally took a bullet for this nation.
05:13He shook his fist and said, fight, fight, fight.
05:18And so will we.
05:20And I'll assure you, we have only just begun to fight.
05:24We are more determined than ever, more resolute than ever to finish what we have started.
05:29We will stand.
05:31We will fight, and we will defend this republic from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
05:40Godspeed, and keep going.
