Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine are set to brief the Gang of Eight in a closed session Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET, according to multiple reports.
- Members are expected to press the legality of a Sept. 2 follow-up strike that killed two survivors; video shown to lawmakers depicted unarmed men clinging to wreckage, and the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual bars attacks on shipwrecked combatants who abstain from hostilities.
- Hegseth has insisted the operations are lawful, including the Sept. 2 strike, as the months-long campaign has targeted suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.
- Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said he expects to speak with Adm. Alvin Holsey this week; Holsey steps down as Southern Command chief on Friday after 37 years, and sources say he had raised concerns before being asked to retire on good terms.
- The Straits Times reports the briefing follows threats of U.S. land strikes against suspected Venezuelan traffickers and a regional naval buildup that includes an aircraft carrier strike group and a nuclear submarine.