The day after Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood on the steps of the Pentagon's ceremonial entrance and released a video listing the policies his department has ended, calling DEI 'a Marxist ideology built to destroy us,' asserting that being trans is incompatible with military service, and rejecting climate goals as a military objective.

Federal News Network reports he defended the Iran war as a 'courageous and historic effort that will ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,' called on 'every patriotic member of Congress' to back a $1.5 trillion defense budget, and pledged that 'that fight continues in the lame duck Congress.'

It was his first public statement since Tuesday's results, after he had directed troops to pause operations for a day last month so they could register and vote.

Democrats did not just win — they swept. According to ABC News projections, they flipped at least six Senate seats, including Republican strongholds like Kansas and South Carolina, and at least a dozen House seats, with gains in states such as Michigan, Texas, Maine, North Carolina and Georgia.

Trump's approval had dipped to 37% with 62% disapproval in an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, and Vice President JD Vance conceded on social media that 'the reason we lost is the war.' Against that backdrop, a cabinet secretary might be expected to soften his posture.

Instead Hegseth delivered an unapologetic message framing the election as a fight against 'deep state radicals,' a striking choice for an official whose own tenure now faces impeachment efforts.

The scale of the Democratic wins is documented across the pack.

ABC News projects Democrats gained control of the Senate with a 54–44 seat edge, flipping seven seats, including James Talarico's defeat of Ken Paxton in Texas — the first Democrat to win a Texas statewide race in over 30 years — and Annie Andrews' win of the seat long held by the late Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

In Pennsylvania's 1st District, WHYY reports Democrat Bob Harvie beat five-term Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick by more than five points after a bitter campaign in which Fitzpatrick's attack ads 'backfired,' with voters citing inflation and record-high fuel prices.

Per Federal News Network, the election was viewed as a referendum on the monthslong Iran War and rising living costs.

Hegseth's defiance comes as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) prepares to refile eight articles of impeachment against him when lawmakers return next week, Federal News Network reports.

Massie, who first tried to force a vote in September, argues Hegseth 'will remain a threat to civilians and the laws of war, the integrity of United States diplomacy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.'

Speaker Mike Johnson blocked the earlier effort by starting the fall recess early, but Massie — leaving office after losing his primary — believes enough Republicans will support the resolution even before Democrats take control in January.

Hegseth dismissed the articles as a 'sham' and called Massie a 'disgruntled, defeated congressman.'

Per Federal News Network, Trump has publicly defended Hegseth's tenure while reportedly mulling whether to oust him, and the secretary's name has been floated for the Senate seat that Tennessee Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn will vacate in January.

Hegseth is also reportedly considering a 2028 presidential run and vowed to 'finish what the Defense Department has started.'

Meanwhile, ABC News notes Trump told The New York Times he will accept the results and is 'absolutely willing' to work with Democrats, even as he posted a hat bearing the word 'VETO.'

With divided control looming and Hegseth promising not to back down, the lame duck session sets up an immediate confrontation over the defense budget and his own fate.