Name: Hegseth says he did not stick around for second boat strike
Uploaded: 2025-12-03T00:17:12.699Z
Duration: 3 min 18 s
Description: President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended a controversial decision to conduct a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, while at the same time making it clear they did not directly order the attack.

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended a controversial decision to conduct a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, while at the same time making it clear they did not directly order the attack.

Washington

Secretary Pete Hegseth stated he authorized a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean but did not remain to oversee the operation, distancing himself from responsibility for a second, controversial strike. He emphasized support for Admiral Mitch Bradley, who made the decision to sink the boat, and maintained that all actions taken were lawful.

The Pentagon's campaign against alleged drug smugglers has come under scrutiny due to concerns about compliance with the law of war and a lack of evidence that the targeted boat posed an imminent threat after the initial strike. Bipartisan calls for greater transparency have emerged, with Admiral Bradley and Secretary Hegseth expected to brief members of Congress.

Hegseth says he did not 'stick around' for second boat strike

Hello, and thank you for joining us. The president and defense secretary are both defending a controversial decision to conduct a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, while at the same time making it clear they did not directly order the attack. During a Cabinet meeting today, President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the ongoing military campaign targeting alleged drug boats around Latin America. That includes the strikes on September 2nd, which the president says killed 11 people. But it wasn't until yesterday, in response to a Washington Post report that the White House confirmed there were multiple strikes. Secretary Hegseth says he authorized the attack, but did not watch the entire operation. I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we've got a lot of things to do. So I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on to my next meeting. A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the, which he had the complete authority to do. And by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat. CBS News Pentagon reporter Eleanor Watson joins us now. So Secretary Hegseth defending the strike, but does he take responsibility for the controversial part of the story, which is that second strike? Well, Secretary Hegseth is distancing himself from that second strike while still defending all of the strikes as lawful. At the White House, you heard him say that he did not witness, while he was watching the live feed of the strikes firsthand, he did not witness survivors. He left the room after the initial strike and was only made aware of survivors later. He then repeated what he essentially said last night on X, saying Admiral Mitch Bradley, who he says was authorized to order strikes, is an American hero, and I stand by his combat decisions. So, again, supporting Bradley, but distancing himself. Broadly, Secretary Hegseth has defended this strike and all of the strikes in the months since on more than 20 vessels as the Pentagon targeting alleged drug smugglers and sinking boats because of the imminent threat that they pose to the United States. But there's particular scrutiny over this strike for two reasons, because, A, the law of war manual from the Pentagon says that shipwrecked combatants, if that's what the administration is considering these alleged drug smugglers, should not be subject to attack, and, B, the administration has not put forward information to show that the boat, after it was hit once, still posed an imminent threat to the United States. That's why there are bipartisan calls for the Pentagon to be more transparent about this campaign. What's next for Admiral Bradley? So, Admiral Mitch Bradley, who is right now, I should mention, the head of Special Operations Command. He was, at the time of the strike, the head of the Joint Special Operations Command. He's now in charge of the parent organization, even higher up. He, on Thursday, is expected to brief Senators Warner and Cotton, and also meet with the top Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, who says it will be important to hear from Bradley, but he would also like to hear from Hegseth himself, who is at the top and has been somewhat obfuscating some of Congress' questions in the last several months since these strikes started. Eleanor Watson, thank you.

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