Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
Archiv: Pete Hegseth
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
(November 28, 2025)
As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors.
Dear Attorney General Bondi and Secretary Hegseth:
(November 24, 2025)
Dear Attorney General Bondi and Secretary Hegseth:
We are writing to request expeditious declassification and public release of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel’s written opinion, dated September 5, 2025, concerning the domestic and international legal basis for recent military strikes of certain vessels near South America and the Caribbean, with appropriate redactions necessary to protect military personnel and sensitive intelligence matters.
Significant and noteworthy precedent exists for the public release of OLC opinions related to overseas military action. After the United States carried out military strikes in Libya in 2011 and in Syria in 2018, the Department of Justice released the applicable OLC opinion justifying each operation.
Few decisions are more consequential for a democracy than the use of lethal force. We therefore believe that the declassification and public release of this important document would enhance transparency in the use of deadly force by our Nation’s military and is necessary to ensure Congress and the American people are fully informed of the legal justification supporting these strikes.
Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
United States Senator
Jack Reed
United States Senator
Jeanne Shaheen
United States Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator
Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator
Tim Kaine
United States Senator
Angus S. King, Jr.
United States Senator
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
Gary C. Peters
United States Senator
Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator
Jacky Rosen
United States Senator
Mark Kelly
United States Senator
Elissa Slotkin
United States Senator
Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the War between Russia and Ukraine (A War that would have NEVER started if I were President!). Last month 25,000 soldiers died.
The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement. In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians. I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Senate Democrats ask Hegseth, Bondi to declassify DOJ memo on drug boat strikes
(November 24, 2025)
Senate Democrats are asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi to declassify and publicly release the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel’s classified, written opinion outlining the legal basis for the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Thirteen Senate Democrats, all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are demanding an “expeditious declassification and public release” of the classified opinion, which was drafted over the summer and argued that U.S. troops who participate in boat strikes, which have taken place on both sides of South America, cannot be prosecuted.
Slotkin Demands Declassification and Public Release of Information on the Trump Administration’s Lethal Airstrikes
Nov 24, 2025 | Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in writing to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requesting the declassification and public release of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) written opinion on the Trump Administration’s lethal airstrikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
“Few decisions are more consequential for a democracy than the use of lethal force. We therefore believe that the declassification and public release of this important document would enhance transparency in the use of deadly force by our Nation’s military and is necessary to ensure Congress and the American people are fully informed of the legal justification supporting these strikes,” the Senators wrote.
US Secretary of War visits region today; Maduro officials hold closed door talks
(November 25, 2025)
War Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, today to meet the country’s top leaders, including President Luis Abinader, Minister of Defence Lt Gen Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre and other officials, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
The announcement came the same day that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar met yesterday.
Sen. Mark Kelly: Trump and Hegseth don‘t ‚understand the Constitution‘
On Monday, the Pentagon announced an investigation into Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot, for possible violations of military law for appearing in the video. The video was published as legal questions swirl around the Trump administration‘s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
While the White House has since walked back the president‘s remarks calling the Senators‘ video „seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH,“ Kelly told All Things Considered he thinks President Trump is „declaring that loyalty to the Constitution is punishable by death.“
FBI scheduling interviews with 6 lawmakers who encouraged military members to refuse ‚illegal orders‘
On Monday, the Department of War announced that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over the video.
The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Slotkin is a former CIA officer.
Pentagon threatens to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to military service for court martial over illegal orders video
The investigation comes as President Donald Trump has been pushing relentlessly for consequences for Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video they made reminding servicemembers of their duty to disobey illegal orders, calling their actions “seditious” and “treason.”
Because Kelly was a senior officer who retired from the Navy, he is required to remain available for recall to the military by law. The other five lawmakers, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Chris Deluzio and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, are not eligible for recall to a military service.
US strikes another boat in Caribbean Sea, killing 3
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced another deadly U.S. strike on a boat he said was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
The attack Thursday killed three people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign in South American waters up to at least 69 people in at least 17 strikes
US kills 14 in new attack on Pacific vessels
Fourteen people were killed and one survived, as a result of another attack by the U.S. War Department against three vessels sailing in the waters of the Eastern Pacific.
The information was confirmed by the Secretary of the US Department of War, Pete Hegseth, who detailed in his X account that “three lethal kinetic attacks were carried out against four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (…) A total of 14 narcoterrorists died during the three attacks.”
Another US strike in Caribbean targets alleged drug-running boat, killing 6, Hegseth says
In a 20-second black and white video of the strike that was posted to social media, a small boat can be seen apparently sitting motionless on the water when a long thin projectile descends on it resulting in an explosion. The video ends before the explosion dies down enough for the remains of the boat to become visible again.
In his post, Hegseth said that the strike was conducted in international waters and boasted that it was the first one conducted at night.
Pope Leo XIV says Hegseth’s talk of war is ‘worrying’
(September 30, 2025)
Asked about the secretary’s meeting with the generals and comments about readiness for war, Pope Leo said: “This way of speaking is worrying, because it shows each time an increase in tensions — this vocabulary, even shifting from ‘Minister of Defense’ to ‘Minister of War.’ Let’s hope it is only a way of speaking. Certainly, they have a style of government where they want to show strength, to put pressure, and we hope it works, but that there will not be war. One must always work for peace.”
Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the “War from Within”
(October 5, 2025)
Peace abroad and war at home? It’s an unusual note to strike in an electoral democracy.
Oregon sues over Trump admin‘s ‚war-ravaged Portland‘ National Guard troop deployment
(September 28, 2025)
The state of Oregon filed a lawsuit Sunday to block President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland.
The suit was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield within hours of Gov. Tina Kotek receiving a memo from Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, in which he authorized the troop deployment for 60 days.
Pentagon launches probe into Iran strike intel leak
Seated next to President Donald Trump, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the start of a day of meetings, Hegseth didn’t provide details of the investigation, but did confirm the classified intelligence assessment and its findings, saying its conclusions are “low confidence.”
Washington clears out personnel from West Asia as tensions with Iran grow
(June 12, 2025)
CENTCOM added that it was “monitoring the developing tension.”
According to US and Iraqi sources cited by Reuters, “the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the [region] due to heightened security risks.”
The sources did not say what prompted the concerns over security risks.
Amid Iran tensions, U.S. withdraws diplomats, military families from West Asia over security concerns
(June 12, 2025)
While the exact cause of the shift in posture remains unclear, a defence official told CNN that US Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring “developing tension in the Middle East.”
President Donald Trump, commenting on the situation, said, “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place… we’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens.
CNN reported that the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the region has been authorized by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. “The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority,” an official said.
Trump seizes on Los Angeles protests in contentious use of military amid migrant crackdown
(June 9, 2025)
A threat by the defense secretary to deploy a force whose battle honors include Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima and Fallujah onto American streets does not only offend principles of democratic republican government. It would almost certainly be illegal, unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act. At this point, the conditions of that legislation look nowhere near being met. Trump said Sunday he was not yet ready to invoke the act.
Still, all this is chilling given his warning last year that he’d be prepared to use the military against “the enemy from within.”
Scoop: Hegseth plans Israel visit ahead of Trump‘s Middle East trip
Driving the news: Hegseth will arrive in Israel on May 12 and meet with his counterpart Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
– Hegseth will then travel to Saudi Arabia to join Trump‘s trip to the Gulf.
– Trump will also visit Qatar and the UAE but is not currently expected to visit Israel.
Hegseth Threatens Iran Over Yemen
(May 1, 2025)
While the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, are aligned with Iran, the Yemeni group has its own domestic missile and drone program, meaning they’re not reliant on Tehran for military support. This has been acknowledged by US officials, including President Trump.
“They’re experts on missiles. I mean, they actually make missiles. Nobody thought that, but they make missiles. It’s highly sophisticated,” President Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early April.
In March, The Washington Post, citing US officials, reported that the Houthis have “established their own substantial, independent weapons production capability.”
The Houthis also operate independently and aren’t likely to take orders from Tehran.
US Massacres Civilian Workers and Paramedics in Attack on Yemen Fuel Port
On Thursday night, the US bombed the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeidah, targeting the facility with two attacks that killed dozens of civilian workers and paramedics.
According to Yemen’s Health Ministry, at least 74 people, including at least five paramedics, were killed, and 171 were wounded. The paramedics were hit by a second US attack on the facility that came after rescue workers had already arrived at the scene to help victims of the first strikes (watch graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack here).
US air strikes kill 74, injure 171 in Yemen
“Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists,” CENTCOM said on Thursday in a post on social media. “The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis,” it said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from Yemen’s capital Sanaa, said the US air strikes hit several different areas, but were most concentrated around the port facility.
“The first four air raids were waged while the people were working,” he said. The air raids took employees by surprise, he said, including truck drivers who were on the scene at the time.
Trump confirms National Security Council firings as Waltz‘s Signal chat woes snowball
Waltz, who previously served as a Florida congressman and as a decorated combat Green Beret, has come under fire from Democrats and critics since March, when the Atlantic magazine‘s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a firsthand account of getting added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, while they discussed strikes against Yemen terrorists. Trump and his administration have repeatedly defended the national security leader amid criticisms over the chat leak.
Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence.
Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal
The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared. (…)
At 2 p.m., Waltz responded: “Typing too fast. The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”
Vance responded a minute later: “Excellent.” Thirty-five minutes after that, Ratcliffe, the CIA director, wrote, “A good start,” which Waltz followed with a text containing a fist emoji, an American-flag emoji, and a fire emoji.
US-Sicherheitspanne zu Jemen-Angriff: „Das soll wohl ein Scherz sein“
Ein Journalist des US-Magazins The Atlantic wurde in eine Chatgruppe eingeladen. In der diskutierten 18 hochrangige Vertreter der US-Regierung über die Angriffe auf die Huthi-Miliz im Jemen, die nur wenige Stunden darauf ausgeführt wurden. Eine Panne, die vor allem bei den Demokraten für massive Empörung sorgt, in den Reihen der Republikaner wird abgewiegelt.
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time. So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.
I went back to the Signal channel. At 1:48, “Michael Waltz” had provided the group an update. Again, I won’t quote from this text, except to note that he described the operation as an “amazing job.” A few minutes later, “John Ratcliffe” wrote, “A good start.” Not long after, Waltz responded with three emoji: a fist, an American flag, and fire.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Statement on General Officer Nominations
I am also requesting nominations for the positions of Chief of Naval Operations and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. The incumbents in these important roles, Admiral Lisa Franchetti and General James Slife, respectively, have had distinguished careers. We thank them for their service and dedication to our country.
We are also requesting nominations for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Hegseth rules out NATO membership for Ukraine and says Europe must be responsible for country’s security
(February 12, 2025)
Later on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he agrees with Hegseth and does not “think it’s practical” to have Ukraine join NATO.
“I don’t think it’s practical to have it. Personally, I know that our new secretary of defense is excellent. Pete made a statement today saying that he thinks it’s unlikely or impractical. I think probably that’s true. I think long before President Putin, they said there’s no way they’d allow that. This has been going on for many, many years. They’ve been saying that for a long time that Ukraine did not go into NATO, and I’m okay with that,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
US defense chief: Return to Ukraine‘s 2014 borders ‚unrealistic‘
(February 12, 2025)
Speaking in Brussels at NATO headquarters, Hegseth told his fellow defense chiefs, „We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
No peace talks have been scheduled, but Hegseth said any durable conclusion to the war must include „robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again.“
Re: Urgent Request for Access to and Information Regarding Immigrants Transferred from the United States and Detained at Guantánamo Bay
(February 7, 2025)
Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Hegseth, and Secretary Rubio:
We write on behalf of the undersigned immigrants‘ rights and civil rights organizations to request immediate access to the noncitizens transferred from immigration detention facilities in the United States and currently detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Since February 4, 2025, the government has transferred nearly two dozen noncitizens to Guantánamo, without providing any information about their circumstances or the government’s legal authority for these unprecedented actions. The government has also announced that it is planning to send tens of thousands of additional immigration detainees to Guantánamo in the near future.
The Constitution, and federal and international law prohibit the government from using Guantánamo as a legal black hole. We therefore request that the government provide our organizations access to the noncitizens detained at Guantánamo so that those individuals will have access to legal counsel, and so advocates and the public can understand the conditions
under which the government is detaining them. We also request basic information that the public has a right to know regarding the noncitizens being sent to Guantánamo and the government’s plans for them.
(…)
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
Americans for Immigrant Justice
Amica Center
American Gateways
Center for Constitutional Rights
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Human Rights First
International Refugee Assistance Project
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Texas Civil Rights Project
President Barzani, anti-ISIS coalition commander discuss ISIS ‘dangers’
When ISIS seized swathes of Iraqi land in 2014, Peshmerga played a key role in driving the extremist group out of the areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, especially Kirkuk. The US-led global coalition provided Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with military assistance to defeat ISIS territorially, which was completed in 2017.
Barzani and Leahy also discussed the latest developments in Syria and their impact on neighboring countries.