Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny from Congress over strikes on alleged drug boat

The scrutiny over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership at the Pentagon has been a long time coming on Capitol Hill. Hegseth barely squeaked through his Senate confirmation process at the start of the year. And lawmakers have been uneasy about the lack of information flowing from the Pentagon to Congress. Now, lawmakers have announced an investigation into a military strike on a boat in the Caribbean that some have said raises questions of potential war crimes. Hegseth has chided those second-guessing his actions. And President Donald Trump is standing by Hegseth, whose Cabinet position is among the most important. But some lawmakers are demanding that Hegseth release the videotape of the incident, and some Democrats in Congress are calling for his resignation.

U.S. Southern Command says it has conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, following a pause of almost three weeks. It is the 22nd strike the U.S. military has carried out against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that the Trump administration claimed were trafficking drugs. There were four casualties in Thursday's strike, according to the social media post, bringing the death toll of the campaign to at least 87 people. In a video that accompanied the announcement, a small boat can be seen moving across the water before it is suddenly consumed by a large explosion. The video then zooms out to show the boat covered in flames and billowing smoke.