The Albanese Government has declared AUKUS is continuing at “full speed”, brushing aside questions over whether a push to impeach US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth could affect the $368 billion submarine endeavour.

Overnight the Pentagon boss narrowly survived a vote to impeach him over “high crimes and misdemeanours” allegedly committed during the military operations he has overseen, including the Iran conflict.

While the vote — led by a member of his own Republican Party — failed, he is likely to face further attempts to remove him when the next congress sits in January and his Democratic opponents control both the House of Representatives and Senate.

Secretary Hegseth decried the move against him as a “farce” and “a stunt” during a rare press conference held after the vote against him failed.

“For the first time in American history, a cabinet secretary overseeing America’s military is being attacked not for losing conflicts with our enemies but for winning them,” the veteran and former television star said.

“We will not apologise for putting American lives first.”

During a visit to Western Australia’s Henderson shipyard on Wednesday, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy declined to comment on the political drama in Washington, but insisted AUKUS was “hitting every milestone”.

“I’m not going to comment about domestic political processes in another country. That’s just not what responsible leaders do. But again, I will say that AUKUS is full steam ahead,” he told reporters.

“We’ve got the USS Colorado in town at the moment, out for the next submarine maintenance period. We’re hitting every major milestone in that area, and the commitment to that is completely bipartisan.”

“So, no matter who is in government in the United States or Australia, I’m confident it will continue at full speed.”

Defence Industry Minister was in the west to announce a local WA-based business would soon produce parts for US Virginia-class submarines.

Under the first stage of the ambitious AUKUS program, American and British nuclear-powered submarines will begin regular deployments to WA next year, before Australia acquires second-hand Virginia-class boats from the US in the 2030s.

Then finally in the 2040s Australia is hoping to begin operating a new fleet of locally built nuclear-powered submarines based on a British design to be known as SSN-AUKUS.

The Defence Industry Minister also insisted the Albanese Government had no plans to reduce the number of Hunter-class frigates being built for the navy, after the Nightly revealed the option was recently examined.

“The plan is that we will acquire six Hunter-class anti-submarine frigates as part of our plans to more than double the Royal Australian Navy,” he said.

“We will be going from a Royal Australian Navy that has 11 major surface combatants to one that has more than 20, with the construction of six Hunter-class frigates in (South Australia’s) Osborne.”

“The construction of 11 general purpose frigates through a combination of offshore build and then transferring to Henderson here, as well as the three air warfare destroyers. That’s our commitment.”

Earlier in the day Defence Minister Richard Marles also declined to comment on Secretary Hegseth’s future, saying it was “fundamentally a matter for the United States” but stressed the Government would work with any administration in Washington.

“We work very closely with the administration of the day, and I have worked very closely with Pete Hegseth,” he told News24, adding that AUKUS is “proceeding at a pace”.

On Thursday the newly arrived US Ambassador to Australia David Brat is scheduled to tour the USS Colorado along with Mr Marles, at WA’s HMAS Stirling naval base where the Virginia-class boat has begun a scheduled maintenance period.

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