Congress Orders Probe Into Hegseth Boat Strikes

Hegseth called the report "fake news" and insisted U.S. operations in the Caribbean "are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command."

White House communications director, Steven Cheung, said on on X that the Post report "provided NO FACTS and NO SUBSTANTIATION."

Trump, speaking to reporters on Sunday, said he had "great confidence" Hegseth did not issue such a spoken order.

"I wouldn't have wanted that—a second strike," Trump said. "The first strike was very lethal. It was fine."

Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, jointly called on Friday for "vigorous oversight" and said the committee would "determine the facts related to these circumstances."

Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who leads the House Armed Services Committee, pledged in a statement issued alongside the committee's top Democrat, Representative Adam Smith, to carry out "rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean."

"We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question," the lawmakers said. SOUTHCOM refers to the U.S. Southern Command, which has carried out the strikes on alleged narco-vessels.

Nebraska Republican, Representative Don Bacon, said he was skeptical Hegseth would have issued the order but added the report was "a big concern."

"We should get to the truth," Bacon told ABC News' This Week on Sunday. "I'm very suspicious that [Hegseth] would've done something like that because it would go against common sense."

"Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious," Ohio Republican Representative Michael Turner told CBS' Face the Nation. "If that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act."

Some Republican Trump allies have dismissed concerns over the strikes.

"I don't know if I believe that at all," Oklahoma Republican, Senator Markwayne Mullin, told CNN on Sunday.