WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday that he is still considering whether to release the full video of an attack on a suspected drug boat that killed two survivors, even as he faces intensifying demands from Congress for disclosure.
Hegseth gave a secret briefing to congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Capitol Hill. In the secure room, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer asked the defense secretary if he would allow every member of Congress to view the video of the September attack.
Schumer said Hegseth’s response was, “We have to study it.”
Lawmakers are demanding a full accounting from the Defense Department of the military campaign and the special strike that killed two people clinging to the wreckage of an initial strike. Legal experts say the action may have violated laws governing the use of deadly military force. The situation has awakened the Republican-controlled Congress to its oversight role after months of frustration over leaks from the Pentagon.
Schumer described the information as “very unsatisfactory” and added that “Democrats and Republicans had a right to see it, wanted to see it and should see it.”
Separately on Tuesday, the US Navy admiral who is retiring early from commanding the campaign to destroy ships believed to be carrying drugs near Venezuela spoke to key lawmakers who oversee the US military. The classified video call between adm. Alvin Holsey, who will retire from US Southern Command in the coming days and the GOP chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was another decisive step by lawmakers to get answers about the operation.
Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to discuss the details of the call but described Holsey as “a great public servant.” He also said the Pentagon is looking into whether releasing the video would reveal classified information.
In the annual defense authorization bill, which has been drafted by both Republicans and Democrats, Congress requires the Pentagon to hand over unedited videos of the strikes as well as the orders authorizing the strikes. The legislation threatens to withhold a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget if he refuses.
“There’s a growing demand that everybody have the right to see this in the Senate,” said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He added that Holsey had answered the senators’ questions, but added that “there are still many questions to be answered.” Reed later added that Holsey did not give a reason for his retirement, other than to say it was a personal decision.
Congress is pressing for more information
Lawmakers are trying to understand the purpose and parameters of President Donald Trump’s campaign, which has hit 22 boats and killed at least 87 people since it began in September. Trump has also made threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, sending a fleet of warships near the South American country, including the largest US aircraft carrier.
The US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday in what appears to be the closest US warplanes have come to the country’s airspace since the start of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign.
Holsey became the leader of the US Southern Command just over a year ago, but in October, Hegseth announced that Holsey would retire early from his post. As commander of US forces in the region, Holsey oversaw a command structure that in recent years has largely focused on building stability and cooperation across much of the region.
Still, Trump’s anti-drug campaign has added a deadly new dynamic to his mission. Instead of trying to interdict vessels carrying drugs, as forces such as the US Coast Guard have traditionally done, the Trump administration says drugs and drug traffickers pose a direct threat to American lives. Officials say they are applying the same rules as the global war on terror to kill drug traffickers.
Trump this week justified the Sept. 2 strike, which killed two survivors, by claiming the two suspected drug dealers were trying to right the side of the boat after it capsized in the initial attack. However, adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the special operations commander who ordered the second strike, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing last week that he ordered the subsequent strike to ensure the cocaine on the boat could not be lifted later by cartel members.
The full House Armed Services Committee will also hear from Bradley next week, said Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the panel.
“We need a briefing for all members of the House of Representatives,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told The Associated Press.
MPs want access to video of boat strike
Over the past few months, the Trump administration has been circulating videos of the strikes — black-and-white images of boats bursting into flames — on social media. But access to the full, unedited videos has now become a point of contention between the Pentagon and Congress.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called it “a little strange” that officials are now claiming that the full, unedited video of the strike is classified and cannot be released even to members of Congress.
“We have a little pushback,” said Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who acknowledged potential concerns about disclosing the sources and methods used in the strikes. “But we said, ‘Look, you post — every time we get a strike, you post it.’
Democrats also say the logic behind the entire operation is deeply problematic.
“They are using expensive and sophisticated American military capabilities to kill people who are the equivalent of corner dealers,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware.
Lawmakers are also questioning what information the military uses to determine whether the boats’ cargo is headed for the US. As they looked more closely at the Sept. 2 attack, lawmakers learned that the wrecked boat was heading south at the time of the attack and that military intelligence showed it was heading toward another ship bound for Suriname.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Republican-controlled Congress will reject the Trump administration’s campaign. Many have so far stood behind it, but concern is also growing about the prospect of war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson missed the secret session — the only leader to do so, according to two people familiar with the private session who spoke on condition of anonymity. Johnson’s absence was notable from the speaker, who is second in line to the president, especially as Congress is expected to have the final say on the military’s use of the nation’s war powers.
War Powers Resolution Vote
A group of senators – three Democrats and one Republican – are also preparing to force a vote on legislation as soon as next week that would stop Trump’s ability to use military force against Venezuela directly without congressional approval.
Senators have already unsuccessfully tried to pass a similar resolution, but almost all Republicans voted against it. However, senators say there is now renewed interest from GOP lawmakers.
“These further attacks of injured people in the ocean are really against our code of military justice,” said Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who is sponsoring the legislation. “They’re illegal.”
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Associated Press reporter Ben Finley contributed.