Trump backs Hegseth as Congress plans boat strike review
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President Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One on Nov. 30. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images
President Trump said he believes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's denial of a report alleging he ordered military forces to leave no survivors in a strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat from Venezuela.
The big picture: The U.S. has ramped up its military pressure on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro despite legal experts and lawmakers sounding the alarm over the legality of the strikes on alleged drug traffickers that have killed dozens.
- Hegseth slammed The Washington Post's report that he directed military officials to kill everyone aboard a vessel, which allegedly resulted in a second strike to take out two survivors. The Intercept also previously reported on the follow-up attack.
- He dismissed the allegations as "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory" on X but said "these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be 'lethal, kinetic strikes.'"
Driving the news: "He said he did not say that, and I believe him 100%," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
- The president added that "we'll look into it" and that he wouldn't have wanted a second strike.
- "The first strike was very lethal. It was fine. And if there were two people around, but Pete said that didn't happen," he said. "I have great confidence."
- Trump added, "Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,"
Friction point: But lawmakers have expressed increasing concern over the shadowy operations and are seeking to conduct their own oversight of the strikes.
- House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a Saturday statement that they "take seriously" the reports of follow-up strikes and are "taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question."
- Similarly, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in a statement the committee will conduct "vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances."
What they're saying: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that if the allegations are proven true, "this rises to the level of a war crime."
- Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also said on CBS that there "are very serious concerns in Congress about the attacks on the so-called drug boats down in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the legal justification that's been provided"
How he responded: After lawmakers aired their concerns on the morning political show circuit, Hegseth took to his personal account Sunday evening to share an image of the children's cartoon turtle Franklin firing a weapon at what appear to be drug-smuggling boats.
- "For your Christmas wish list..." he wrote.
What we're watching: Trump signaled Thursday that the squeeze on Venezuela will only tighten, saying that land operations will start "very soon."
- Days later, he issued a broad directive on Truth Social declaring the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela "CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," which the Venezuelan government castigated as a "hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act."
- Asked Sunday whether his statement about the country's airspace signaled an imminent airstrike, Trump replied, "Don't read anything into it."
Go deeper: What to know about the military forces Trump is assembling near Venezuela
