Hegseth to Newport News shipbuilders: 'You are building a shield for our nation'

Emma Rose Brown, The Virginian-Pilot on Jan 5, 2026

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NEWPORT NEWS — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Newport News Shipyard on Monday to speak with shipbuilders about what he called the “generational struggle to maintain peace through strength.”

With the in-progress submarine USS Oklahoma behind him, Hegseth highlighted the importance of industrial workers to the military’s strength.

“I want you to know that whether you’re wearing a uniform, coveralls or a suit, the work you’re doing is important, it’s patriotic and essential to our nation,” Hegseth said.

The speech kicked off the defense department’s month-long “Arsenal of Freedom” campaign. The tour will include shipyards along the coasts and factories inland that support the defense industry.

Hegseth addressed the longstanding delays and cost overruns faced by shipyards.

“We are systemically dismantling the bloated, risk averse and self-serving bureaucracy that has stifled innovation for decades,” Hegseth said. “I don’t give a damn who wins. I just want the best.”

He railed against industrial decline, claiming a “bipartisan consensus” in recent decades had turned to “the hollow promises of globalism” and had “sold our birthright for a bowl of soup.”

Hegseth also addressed Saturday’s overnight in Venezuela, noting that 200 service members stormed downtown Caracas to seize Nicolas Maduro “without a single American killed.”

Maduro appeared in court just hours before Hegseth took the stage Monday. Maduro pleaded not guilty on all narcoterrorism charges, adding, “I am a decent man.”

On Jan. 3, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from Caracas to the USS Iwo Jima, where they were flown to New York to face criminal charges.

Also on Monday, Hegseth censured and began administrative action against Sen. Mark Kelly. Kelly participated in a social media video in November with five other democrats reminding troops they can disobey illegal orders.

At the shipyard, Hegseth briefly mentioned the “Golden Fleet,” which will be designed by Huntington Ingalls Industries and include new “Trump-class” battleships and expanded submarine production.

“You are building a shield for our nation, bolt by bolt and weld after weld,” Hegseth told the crowd of 300 shipbuilders and sailors. “A nation that builds is a nation that wins.”

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