President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump traveled to Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday morning to mark Veterans Day, where they were joined by embattled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
On Tuesday night, Hegseth was spared an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives, with Republicans rallying around him, despite the effort being spearheaded by outgoing GOP Representative Thomas Massie.
A GOP-led vote to table the motion succeeded, 211-204, with a number of Democrats missing the vote.
The libertarian-leaning Massie wanted Hegseth ousted over the war with Iran and other ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’
The President has remained supportive of Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel host, despite the Republicans’ midterms massacre, with the President’s party losing control of both the House and the Senate.
Hegseth sat next to the First Lady during the ceremony and received loud cheers from the audience when the President name-dropped him during his speech.
‘I had a feeling that was going to happen,’ Trump chuckled. ‘He’s done a fantastic job, and he loves you, and he protects you.’
The President also announced that the US had already ‘won’ the war with Iran.
President Donald Trump delivered remarks Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appeared at the Veterans Day ceremony just hours after he was spared an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives
Jennifer Hegseth and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (left) attended the ceremony after the former Fox News host was saved from an impeachment vote. The couple was seated next to First Lady Melania Trump (center)
President Donald Trump (left) and Vice President JD Vance (right) salute during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday
First Lady Melania Trump (left) and Second Lady Usha Vance (right) stood together during a wreath-laying ceremony at the top of the event
‘Just a question of when we want to end it,’ the President said. ‘We want to make sure we have a total victory, not a 93 percent victory.’
The President’s appearance at Arlington National Cemetery also comes amid a tussle he’s having with veterans’ groups over the construction of his triumphal arch.
Among the veterans’ complaints: the 250-foot arch, nicknamed the ‘Arc de Trump,’ would shadow some military gravesites.
It would also block the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
Still, the President championed the project in his speech.
‘And soon we’re going to dedicate a magnificent triumphal arc to our veterans. And that’s in honor of our great veterans and our great militaries,’ Trump said.
‘They’ve been waiting for it for 200 years,’ the President claimed.
A group of Vietnam War veterans originated the lawsuit against the arch, backed by the left-leaning watchdog group Public Citizen.
On Tuesday, the family of President John F Kennedy sued to halt the project – arguing the giant structure would shadow the slain Democrat’s eternal flame.
Last week, the National Capital Planning Commission, one of two groups that provide oversight to these projects, green-lit the arch.
Prior to demolishing the White House’s East Wing, Trump stacked the NCPC and the Commission of Fine Arts, the other oversight group, with allies who have rubber stamped every project despite public outcry.
On Thursday, just hours after the arch received NCPC’s approval, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered a two-week restraining order banning any construction while the project is going through court.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
