Remarks by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at Newport News Shipyard

"Secretary of War" is the Trump administration’s rebranded title for the Secretary of Defense, not a separate job. Under Executive Order 14347, the Department of Defense is allowed to use the secondary title "Department of War" and call its cabinet head the "Secretary of War" in official communications, but in U.S. law the position is still the Secretary of Defense and the department is still legally the Department of Defense until Congress changes the statute.

The "Department of War" is the Trump administration’s branding for the existing U.S. Department of Defense. Executive Order 14347 authorizes the Pentagon to use "Department of War" as a secondary title and to style its leader as "Secretary of War" in non‑statutory contexts, and the Pentagon has rebranded its public website as war.gov. However, Congress has not passed a law changing the department’s formal name, so in legal terms it remains the Department of Defense with the same mission of providing the military forces needed to deter war and ensure U.S. security.

The "Arsenal of Freedom" tour is a month‑long, multistate trip by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and senior officials to shipyards and factories around the U.S. Its stated purposes are to:

• Rally public and political support for rebuilding the U.S. defense industrial base and broader manufacturing.
• Highlight the role of civilian workers and companies in U.S. military power.
• Promote a new acquisition approach that cuts red tape and rewards speed, innovation, and on‑time, on‑budget delivery, as part of President Trump’s "peace through strength" agenda.

Newport News Shipyard (Newport News Shipbuilding, part of HII) is central to U.S. naval power because it:

• Is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of all U.S. nuclear‑powered aircraft carriers.
• Is one of only two U.S. shipyards that design and build nuclear‑powered submarines (including Virginia‑class and Columbia‑class boats).
• Is a huge industrial employer and is currently building or overhauling dozens of major Navy ships, making it a key bottleneck and enabler for fleet size and readiness.

In his Newport News Shipyard speech, Hegseth mainly:

• Kicked off the "Arsenal of Freedom" tour and praised shipyard workers as vital to U.S. military strength.
• Outlined his three "pillars": reviving a hard‑line "warrior ethos" in the military (explicitly rejecting DEI programs and other policies he calls "distractions"), massively rebuilding U.S. forces with higher spending, and re‑establishing strong deterrence so adversaries "will not dare to test us."
• Announced and promoted the Navy’s planned "Golden Fleet" and new Trump‑class battleships as a long‑term commitment to U.S. sea power.
• Described a major overhaul of defense acquisition: cutting bureaucracy, ending routine cost‑plus contracts and tolerance for delays, and giving larger, longer, more predictable contracts to firms that deliver on time and on budget and invest in capacity and workers rather than stock buybacks.
• Used recent U.S. military actions (against Houthi forces, Iranian nuclear sites, drug‑smuggling boats, the southern border, and an operation in Caracas to seize Nicolás Maduro) as examples of the administration’s "peace through strength" and claimed renewed global respect for U.S. power.

You can access materials from the event at:

• Full official transcript: on the Department of War/Defense site at defense.gov/war.gov. • Transcript: "Remarks by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at Newport News Shipyard".
• Video coverage: local outlet 13News Now embedded video from the visit; other broadcasters (e.g., NTD) also streamed his Newport News events.
• Photos and a summary: HII’s news release and associated photo gallery from the shipyard visit.

The official Department of War transcript only includes Hegseth’s own prepared remarks and does not quote workers, unions, or local officials. However, reporting and company releases show that:

• Hundreds of shipbuilders and sailors were present in the audience, and Hegseth interacted directly with them during the visit.
• HII’s release notes he met with shipyard leadership and spent "significant time" with shipbuilders and sailors.
• Local coverage quotes outside voices such as retired Rear Adm. Michael Smith and, in separate pieces, Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, but those comments are reported by media rather than being part of the official transcripted event. There is no public evidence that union representatives spoke from the podium or were quoted in the Pentagon transcript.