U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (right) watches as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting of his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House on December 2, 2025 in Washington, DC (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he did not witness a controversial – and possibly illegal – second attack in early September that killed two survivors clinging to a burning alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela.
The minister’s exact order in the strike on September 2nd was: under observation according to the Washington Post reported On Friday, Hegseth gave a verbal order to “kill everyone,” which in turn led the commanding admiral to order a follow-up attack to kill two suspected drug smugglers who had survived an initial attack.
Hegseth’s comments answered a reporter’s question at the end of President Donald Trump’s livestreamed two-hour Cabinet meeting.
“I followed that first attack live. As you can imagine, we had a lot to do at the War Department, so … I moved on to my next meeting,” Hegseth told reporters.
The secretary said he learned “a few hours later” that Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley “made the right decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.”
When the reporter asked him if he saw any survivors after the initial attack, Hegseth said, “I personally didn’t see any survivors… the thing was on fire.”
“It’s called the fog of war. You don’t understand that in the press,” he replied.
Hegseth said he didn’t know the exact amount of time between the first and second strikes. He declined to answer further questions.
Bipartisan lawmakers on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees announced investigations over the weekend into the follow-up attack that killed the survivors. Numerous military law experts argue The killing of shipwreck survivors is a clear violation of Pentagon regulations Laws of war.
Hegseth approved the strike
Hegseth initially described the Washington Post investigative report as “fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory.” post on social media on Friday.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during the daily briefing that Hegseth “authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic attacks.”
“Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law that ordered the operation to ensure that the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” Leavitt said at the briefing.
Hegseth wrote on social media Monday evening: “Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional and has my 100 percent support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he made – on the September 2nd mission and all others since.”
A New York Times article on Monday quoting five U.S. officials who spoke separately on condition of anonymity, reported that Hegseth gave an initial written order for an operation to kill the suspected drug smugglers on the boat and destroy the entire ship.
Officials said Hegseth did not consider further action if the first missile failed to reach both targets and that he did not give Bradley additional orders in response to the boat’s video surveillance, according to the Times, which wrote that Bradley ordered “several” follow-up shots.
The attack in question was the first of nearly two dozen U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea that the government said were involved in drug smuggling. According to a CNN report, 83 people died in the operations over several months Timeline.
“I rely on Pete”
Trump defended Hegseth at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, saying, “Pete did a great job.”
Regarding the attack, Trump downplayed the significance of a follow-up attack.
“I still haven’t gotten a lot of information because I rely on Pete, but to me it was an attack. It wasn’t one punch, two punches, three punches,” he said.
“Pete didn’t know about a second attack involving two people. And I guess Pete would have to talk to him. I can say one thing: I want these boats taken out, and if we have to, we will attack on land, just like we attack at sea,” Trump said.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he “wouldn’t have wanted that,” referring to the killing of two men who were clinging to the rubble.
“Pete said he did not order the deaths of these two men,” Trump continued.
Trump posted On September 2, a 29-second edited video of the attack was posted on his Truth Social platform.
On September 3, Fox News published “Fox & friends” played the video from Trump’s post repeatedly while interviewing Hegseth, who told the anchors that 11 suspected “narco terrorists” were killed in the attack.
“I saw it live. We knew exactly what they were doing and we knew exactly who they represented,” Hegseth said on the network’s talk show, which he hosted on weekends before he was named and confirmed as defense secretary.
The interception first reported On September 10, it was announced that survivors of the initial attack on September 2 were killed in further explosions.
Congressional inquiries
Lawmakers on both sides are now asking whether the events of September 2 constituted a war crime.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., issued a statement Tuesday criticizing Hegseth and calling on Trump to fire him if he violates martial law.
“In the Pentagon, the responsibility lies with the secretary of defense, period,” Slotkin said.
The first-term Democrat and former CIA officer recently attended one videowhich is now the subject of a Pentagon investigation, and reminds service members that they have the right to refuse “illegal orders.”
“True leaders are responsible for their calls and take responsibility for their actions. Minister Hegseth should release the full video of the attack and publicly explain what happened without alienating the uniformed military,” Slotkin said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended the administration Tuesday when asked by reporters about the Sept. 2 event and Hegseth’s other controversies Real-time bombing discussion of targets in Yemen in March on the publicly available app Signal.
“I believe that the Trump administration and the peace through strength policies it is implementing around the world are making our country safer, and so Secretary Hegseth is a part of that,” the South Dakota Republican said.
