Hegseth told congressional leaders he was considering releasing video of the boat bombings

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he is still considering whether to release the full video of the attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors, even as he faces intense demands from Congress to release it.

Hegseth provided a classified briefing to congressional leaders along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior national security officials. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said that when he asked the Defense Secretary whether he would allow every member of Congress to view the video of the attack in September, Hegseth’s response was: “We have to look into it.”

But lawmakers are demanding that the Defense Department take full accountability for the strikes that killed two people who were clinging to the wreckage of the initial strike. Legal experts say the action may have violated laws governing the use of lethal military force. This situation has awakened the Republican-controlled Congress to its oversight role after months of frustration over the flow of information from the Pentagon.

Schumer called the briefing “deeply unsatisfactory” and added that “Democrats and Republicans have a right to see it, they want to see it, and they should see it.”

Separately, a US Navy admiral, who is retiring early from leading a campaign to destroy ships allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela, spoke with key lawmakers who oversee the US military. The secret video call between Adm. Alvin Hulsey, who will retire from US Southern Command in the coming days, and the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, represents another aggressive move by lawmakers to get answers about the operation.

Senator Roger Wicker, Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to discuss details of the call, but called Hulsey a “great public servant.” He also said the Pentagon was considering whether releasing the video would reveal classified information.

In the annual defense authorization bill, drafted by both Republicans and Democrats, Congress requires the Pentagon to turn over unedited video of the strikes, as well as the orders that authorized the attacks. The legislation threatens to withhold a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget if he rejects it.

“There is a growing demand that everyone in the Senate have the right to see it,” said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Read more: All US military strikes against alleged drug boats

He added that Hulsey answered the senators’ questions but also said that “there are still a lot of questions to be answered.” Reid later added that Hulsey gave no reason for his retirement other than to say it was a personal decision.

Congress is pressing for more information

FILE PHOTO: Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Roger Wicker, R-Mo., speak before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2024. Wicker declined to discuss details of this week’s secret video call with Adm. Alvin Hulsey. Photography by Amanda Andrade Rhodes/Reuters.

Lawmakers are trying to understand the purpose and parameters of President Donald Trump’s campaign, which has struck 22 boats and killed at least 87 people since it began in September. Trump has also made threats against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sending a fleet of warships near the South American country, including the largest US aircraft carrier.

The U.S. military on Tuesday flew two fighter planes over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest U.S. warplanes have been to the country’s airspace since the Trump administration’s pressure campaign began.

Hulsey became commander of U.S. Southern Command just over a year ago, but in October, Hegseth announced that Hulsey would take early retirement from his position. As commander of US forces in the region, Hulsey oversaw a command structure that in recent years has focused mostly on building stability and cooperation across much of the region.

However, Trump’s drug boat campaign added a new and deadly dynamic to its mission. Instead of trying to intercept ships carrying drugs, as forces such as the US Coast Guard have traditionally done, the Trump administration asserts that drugs and drug traffickers pose a direct threat to the lives of Americans. Officials say they are applying the same rules as the global war on terrorism to kill drug traffickers.

He watches: Pentagon leaders brief lawmakers on US boat strikes, raising debate over legality

Trump this week justified the strike by claiming that two suspected drug smugglers were trying to right the section of the boat after it capsized in the initial attack. However, Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the special operations commander who ordered the second strike, told lawmakers in a closed session last week that he ordered the second strike to ensure cartel members could not pick up the cocaine found in the boat later.

Rep. Adam Smith, the committee’s top Democrat, said the full House Armed Services Committee will also hear from Bradley next week.

“We need a briefing for all members of the House,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told The Associated Press.

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has posted videos of the strikes — black-and-white footage of boats exploding and bursting into flames — on social media.

Senator 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. He and other Democrats also say the logic behind the whole process is deeply problematic.

“They are using expensive and brilliant American military capabilities to kill people who are the equivalent of corner dealers,” said Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware.

Lawmakers also question what intelligence the military uses to determine whether boatloads are headed to the United States. When they looked more closely at the Sept. 2 strike, lawmakers learned that the destroyed boat was heading south at the time of the attack and that military intelligence showed it was headed toward another ship that was heading to Suriname.

However, it remains to be seen whether the Republican-controlled Congress will resist the Trump administration’s crackdown. Many have so far supported the move, but concern is also growing about the potential for war.

House Speaker Mike Johnson skipped the classified briefing — 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 noticeable from the Speaker of Parliament, who occupies second place in the president’s line of succession, especially since Congress is expected to have the final say on the army’s use of war powers in the country.

Vote on the War Powers Resolution

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 halt Trump’s ability to use military force against Venezuela directly without congressional approval.

Senators had already tried unsuccessfully to pass a similar resolution, but almost all Republicans voted against it. However, senators say there is now renewed interest from GOP lawmakers.

“These attacks that come on the heels of strikes on people injured in the ocean are really inconsistent with our code of military justice,” said Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who is sponsoring the legislation. “They’re illegal.”

Associated Press reporter Ben Finley contributed.