Hegseth insists “we always support our commanders” amid outrage over who ordered second strike on boat
“We always have the support of our commandersHegseth said, insisting that “they did the right thing” by making judgments in difficult situations.
He hints at Admiral Frank M. Bradleya military leader that Hegseth has insisted on ever since yesterday ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel on September 2. The White House is also backing the story, leaving some officials in Congress and the Pentagon, as well as Democrats, now fearing Bradley will become a scapegoat for the potentially illegal order.
Key events
Hegseth says he watched the first strike but “didn't stay there” for the next hours, defending the admiral's decision to carry out a second strike on the suspected drug ship.
At today's cabinet meeting Pete Hegseth provided more details on the Sept. 2 decision to carry out a second strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel off the coast of Venezuela.
He said he “watched the first impact” but ultimately didn't “stick around for an hour or two hours” after it.
“So I move on to the next meeting,” the defense minister said. “A couple of hours later I learned that this commander had done what he had every right to do.”
Hegseth supported Adm. Frank Bradley called as he described the unfolding events to reporters. “[Bradley] sank the boat, sank the boat and ended the threat. And it was the right call. We support him, and the American people are safer because narco-terrorists know that drugs cannot be transported by water and, ultimately, by land,” Hegseth added.
His retelling today contradicts the version of events he described to his former Fox News colleagues the day after the closely scrutinized second strike on Sept. 2. As my colleague Robert McKee reported, on September 3 the Secretary of Defense said he was watching the operation in real time.
“I can tell you that it was definitely not artificial intelligence: I watched it live,” Hegseth said in an interview.
Trump says Hegseth 'didn't know' about 'second attack involving two people'
Answering questions from journalists at today's cabinet meeting, Donald Trump defended his Pentagon chief over reports that Pete Hegseth ordered a US Navy admiral to carry out a second strike on a suspected drug ship carrying two survivors.
“Pete didn't know that the second attack involved two people,” Trump said. “What I can say is this: I want these boats gone.”
Rubio praises Trump's foreign policy moves, says he is 'the only leader' who can help end war in Ukraine
Concluding today's comments, Secretary Marco Rubio said that Donald Trump is the “only leader in the world” who can help end the war in Ukraine and has praised the president's foreign policy efforts.
“Even as we speak, Steve Witkoff is in Moscow trying to find a way to end this war,” Rubio added, referring to the ongoing summit between Putin and the US delegation. more than two hours.
“More people are dying in this war in a week than have died in the entire history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan or Iraq,” Rubio said.
My colleague, Joseph Gideonreports that a DC National Guard spokesman confirmed that members supporting Donald Trump's operation in the nation's capital “have been armed with their assigned service weapons since August 2025 in support of civilian authorities and at the request of the lead federal agency.”
The spokesman added that “every service member is trained and qualified to operate their assigned weapon to War Department standards.”
This is Trump ninth cabinet meeting since he returned to office earlier this year. This has been going on for over an hour and a half. In many ways, this is similar to past roundtables. Most Cabinet secretaries and department heads praised the administration's policies and thanked their colleagues.
The Agriculture Secretary says the administration will cut off federal funding to states that refuse to provide food stamp data.
Brooke Rollins, the president's agriculture secretary, said her agency “will begin to stop transferring federal funds” to 21 States Refused to Provide Data on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Recipients.
She added that USDA will withhold funds until those states “comply,” report to USDA and allow the department to “root out this fraud and protect American taxpayers.”
Although undocumented immigrants remain ineligible for Snap benefits, Rollins said earlier this week that the USDA is reviewing “all programs” to ensure that “only legal citizens receive benefits.”
Duffy repeats calls for passengers to 'clean up' on air travel
transport secretary, Sean Duffyrepeated its call for passengers to “better behave” during flights to “bring civility back to travel.”
“If someone's pregnant on your flight and you're as strong as Pete,” Duffy said, looking at the defense secretary and joking during a Trump cabinet meeting. “Well, take the bag and help her, put it on the top shelf. Let's be kind to each other.”
The secretary repeated his calls for passengers to “perhaps not wear pajamas or slippers on the plane.”
Hegseth insists “we always support our commanders” amid outrage over who ordered second strike on boat
“We always have the support of our commandersHegseth said, insisting that “they did the right thing” by making judgments in difficult situations.
He hints at Admiral Frank M. Bradleya military leader that Hegseth has insisted on ever since yesterday ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel on September 2. The White House is also backing the story, leaving some officials in Congress and the Pentagon, as well as Democrats, now fearing Bradley will become a scapegoat for the potentially illegal order.
In his first public appearance since the Washington Post reported that he ordered a second strike on a suspected drug ship that killed two shipwreck survivors, Pete Hegseth The number of strikes on ships in the Caribbean has doubled:
We've just started hitting drug trafficking ships and driving narco-terrorists to the bottom of the ocean because they're poisoning the American people.
Trump says National Guard will be deployed to New Orleans 'in a couple of weeks'
“We're going New Orleans soon” with the National Guard, Trump said, adding that the Republican governor (and staunch ally of the president) of Louisiana, Jeff Landrycalled him and asked for help.
“We'll go there in a couple of weeks,” Trump said.
Trump said at a Cabinet meeting that he would announce his choice to be the next House speaker. Federal Reserve early next year.
He added that he had spoken with the Minister of Finance. Scott Bessant about taking over the Fed, but Bessent didn't want the job.
Donald TrumpThe Cabinet meeting began recently, slightly behind schedule. I'll list all the key lines here.
Schumer calls on Hegseth to release full, unedited footage of boat collisions
Also formerly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Hegseth “spineless” and a “national disgrace” and called on the defense secretary to release the full, unredacted recording of the fatal strikes on a suspected drug ship off the US coast. Venezuela September 2.
Schumer pointed to a recent appearance on Fox News where Hegseth “bragged about being there for every step of the operation” but now claims that Admiral Bradley decided to strike a second time.
“As soon as problems arise, Hegseth says someone else made the decision,” Schumer said.
Schumer not only released the recording, but also said that the Secretary of Defense should testify publicly on the matter and also brief the Senate in secret.
Democrats say Hegseth lied about second boat strike and 'threw Admiral Bradley under the bus'
Meanwhile, at a press conference of Democrats earlier, representative Ted Liu from California called Pete Hegseth resign, saying the defense minister lied about a second strike on a suspected drug smuggling vessel and “abandoned Admiral Bradley under the bus.”
“Killing shipwreck survivors is war crime” said Lew, a former Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps lawyer. He said war crimes have no statute of limitations and the Justice Department must investigate and bring everyone to justice.
Hegseth “was engaged dishonest behaviorLiu said, adding: “He's a coward. he should resignyou deserve better.”
California Representative Pete Aguilar repeated that they believe Hegseth should resign, but added that Republicans would never go for impeachment.
“Military members must tell the truth,” he said. “We need full account of what happened that day with that strike.”
Wilson said today that the Pentagon can “100% confirm that we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who these narco-terrorists are.”
While Wilson said the department knows “what these suspected Teamsters are carrying, where they're coming from and where they're going,” she declined to provide details about the Pentagon's intelligence efforts. “I don’t want to tell the enemy how we carry out these strikes,” she added.
