Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders he is still weighing release of the full Sept. 2 video, as lawmakers press for unedited footage, execute orders and related legal documents.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to confront Hegseth and demanded public release of the video, while Republicans including John Thune and Josh Hawley urged disclosure if sources and methods can be protected.
- Adm. Alvin Holsey, retiring early from U.S. Southern Command, briefed Senate Armed Services leaders by secure video, and Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine held a separate closed briefing for the ‘Gang of Eight.’
- The maritime campaign has carried out 22 strikes since early September with at least 87 deaths reported, including a Dec. 4 operation conducted at Hegseth’s direction that killed four men, according to U.S. Southern Command.
- Legal questions persist over the Sept. 2 follow-on strike that killed two survivors; a report alleging Hegseth said “kill everybody” is denied, Adm. Frank Bradley told lawmakers he re-struck to prevent cocaine recovery, and President Trump has shifted from endorsing release of the video to deferring the decision to Hegseth.