Overview
- New NDAA language would cap the defense secretary’s travel budget at 75% until the Pentagon provides the House and Senate Armed Services Committees unedited videos of recent boat strikes and overdue execute‑order reports.
- President Trump walked back his earlier openness to publishing the Sept. 2 footage, deferring the decision to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who says a release is under review to protect sources and methods.
- Trump said the survivors appeared to be trying to right their capsized boat; Democrats who viewed the classified video called the re‑strike unjustified, while some Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton, defended it as lawful.
- The maritime campaign has reached at least 22 strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific with roughly 86–87 people killed, as the administration continues to label targets as narcoterrorists without publicly providing evidence.
- Briefed lawmakers were told by Adm. Frank Bradley that the Sept. 2 vessel was linking up with a ship bound for Suriname, adding to shifting accounts of the boat’s destination, and an administration official said a JAG advised throughout.