Transcript of a January 25, 2025 YouTube video showing Vice President Vance administering the oath to Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. The content includes opening remarks praising the nominee and President Trump, the full oath of office, Hegseth’s acceptance remarks emphasizing support for the military, and a brief question period about trust in leadership.
Chapters
Well, good morning, everybody. I am so happy to be here today and so thrilled to be able to swear in our new Secretary of Defense, and we are honored to have him. Now, before we do that, I have to say a few words of appreciation. First, of course, to the President of the United States for nominating a person who is respected and adored by the war fighters. This is the Secretary of Defense who will stand up for the men and women that we send overseas to fight our nation's wars. I think a lot of them feel that they haven't had somebody who's had their back. That will change, because the President of the United States nominated this guy, and we are grateful to President Trump for doing so. I also want to say thank you to my Senate colleagues. It turns out we couldn't spare one. And all of you did an incredible job. In particular, my dear friend, Roger Wicker. Thank you for shepherding Pete through the committee. Roger did a great job. And in addition, all of the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who I know gave the. Gave Pete the vetting and the hearing that he deserved. And I'm glad that we all ultimately decided that the President's nominee for Secretary of Defense ought to be our actual Secretary of Defense, and we're here today. I'll say one final thing. If you look at what has separated President Trump from so many of the people who came before him, it is the view that, number one, we. We should be sparing. And how we deploy our most precious resource, which is the men and women who are willing to put on the uniform and put their life on the line for this country. We shouldn't send them everywhere. But two, when we do send them anywhere, we ought to empower them with the tools necessary to fight and win quickly and come home afterwards. And that is what sets this administration apart, and that's what Pete Hexech represents. Now, finally, I, of course, have to thank the nominee himself. Pete, thank you for being willing to put yourself out there. I think you've shown yourself a man of deep character and of resolve over the last few months. Jennifer, thank you for standing by our new Secretary of Defense and your beautiful family. From your kids to the extended family, you guys did a hell of a job. We're proud of you, and we're glad to have you in Washington as we work to make America great again. So with that, let me administer the oath of office. Kids, come on up.
Come on, guys.
All right, put your hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Pete Hegseth, I, Pete Hegseth, do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
That I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all.
Enemies, foreign and domestic.
Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
That I take this obligation freely.
That I take this obligation freely.
Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
And that I will well and faithfully discharge.
And that I will well and faithfully.
Discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.
The duties of the office of which I am about to enter.
So help you God.
So help me God.
Congratulations, Mr. Secretary. Congratulations, Mr. Secretary. Say awards.
All praise and glory to God. His will be done, and we're grateful to be here. And as I said in my hearing, it was Jesus and Jenny, I would not be here without you, sweetheart. Thank you so much. I want to thank the President of the United States, our commander in chief, Donald Trump. We could not have a better commander in chief than him. It is the honor of a lifetime, sir, to serve under you. We look forward to having the backs of our troops and having your back in executing peace through strength, in putting America first, and in rebuilding our military. Mr. Vice President, thank you for breaking the tie. It's not the last time or not the first time. The headline reads, junior enlisted Marine bails out Junior army officer. And, you know, some people were saying, well, 50, 50, that's too tight. And Senator Mark Wayne Mullen was nice enough to take my kids up to the gallery to watch the actual moment that the vice president sealed the deal and they came running in, they said, dad, instead of being sad about 50 to 50, 51 to 50, they said, dad, you won in overtime. That's the perspective I like. So thank you throughout this process, Mr. Vice President, for being incredible. I also want to thank the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, so many members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. We became fast friends in this process. The advice, the consent, the wisdom, the guidance. I look forward to working with all of you and other senators to ensure the Defense Department has what it needs, that our nation has what it needs, and that we're prepared to defend it in all moments. To my staff, amazing staff, who with us this entire process, I see so many of you through thick and thin. We used to look at the betting odds every once in a while on this. It was low at one point. Never do that. But we defied them. And there were so many folks on the inside and then allies on the outside who stood by us every single moment. And we are eternally grateful for that. And I want to thank the war fighters. I want to thank the men and women wearing the uniform. And I've said this before when I speak, and I mean it. Every time I stand at a podium and there's bright lights and cameras, the first thing that goes through my head are the guys that I served with on the battlefield, the men and the women who I lock shields with and put my life on the line with, who never get the spotlight, who never have the cameras, who. People don't know what they did in dark and dangerous places. But I know. And at the Pentagon, we're going to remember and we're going to know and we're going to think about those warriors with every single decision that we make. We will put America first. We will bring peace through strength. And the three principles I talked about are what we will bring to that Pentagon. Restore the warrior ethos in everything that we do, rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence. We don't want to fight wars. We want to deter them, as you said, and we want to end them responsibly. But if we need to fight them, we're going to bring overwhelming and decisive force to close with and destroy the enemy and bring our boys home. And to my other family that's here as well, who I love, it's the honor of a lifetime. And I would be remiss if I didn't know one person in this room who doesn't expect to be recognized. But Captain Rougeau is here. He was my company commander on my first deployment in Guantanamo Bay. He was there on June 3, 2003, when I first swore in as a second lieutenant at Princeton University. And he swore me in. And I wanted to make sure he was here today with me as well. Thank you very much. So, Mr. President, thank you very much to the American people. We have your back. We're going to get to work right away. God bless. Thank you.
All right, I guess that's it. Any questions? Why should women in the armed service trust you.
Guys?
Let me answer that for the new secretary. All people in our armed services should trust him because he looks out for them, and he's going to fight for them, and he's going to make sure that we have the kind of military that. That we can all be proud in, that we can all be proud of. And that again, when we send it to do a job, we do it well, we do it quickly, and then we get the hell out. And that's what Secretary Hexsett is going to bring to the Department of Defense. Anything else? Are you worried about any other nominees.
Coming really close to the line, as he's always.
You know, as I learned with the Buckeyes just a week ago, when you win the championship, you don't give a damn what the score was. We won the championship on this one. We've got a great Secretary of Defense. We're proud of him, and he's going to do a great job. Thank you all. Take it.
