Defense bill would limit Pentagon travel funds until boat strike footage released
Washington — Congress is considering withholding part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon provides footage of strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela.
This provision was inserted into a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual defense policy bill passed every year for more than six decades. On Sunday, lawmakers unveiled the bill, which authorizes nearly $901 billion in defense spending. The bill is expected to pass the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
It would withhold a quarter of Hegseth’s office’s travel funds until the House and Senate Armed Services Committees receive “never-before-seen video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.”
This provision also requires the Pentagon to submit overdue reports, including on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, before funds are released.
Politico was the first to report the provision, which appears on more than 800 pages in the 3,086-page bill.
The requirement to release the footage follows the revelation that two survivors of an initial boat collision on September 2 in the Caribbean Sea were killed during another strike. Two sources familiar with the video of the strike said the two survivors were make a knowing sign before they are killed.
On Tuesday afternoon, Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will brief congressional leaders and top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, according to two sources familiar with the planning.
Military officials informed a small number of legislators on the incident in early September last week legality comes under increasing scrutiny. Some critics have said the killing of survivors constitutes a war crime.
Some members of Congress were shown video of the September 2 operation during last week’s briefing, but the video has not been made public, except for a 29-second clip posted on social media by President Trump. The army has struck more than 20 suspected drug boats since early September, killing at least 87 people. The Trump administration has argued that the strikes are legally justified.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he would support releasing the footage.
“I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we will certainly release it, no problem,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
But on Monday, Mr. Trump walked back his promise, saying he was comfortable with “whatever Hegseth wants to do.”
Hegseth said Saturday that the video may not be released, citing ongoing operations in the area.
