A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Trump administration continues to face questions about a U.S. attack on an alleged drug boat in September in the Caribbean.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the White House on Tuesday he did not witness the second round of strikes that killed survivors on the boat.
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PETE HEGSETH: I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we 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.
INSKEEP: Hegseth has a long history of advocating more lethality, as he calls it, with fewer lawyers. In a moment, we'll hear what a former high-ranking military lawyer thinks. We begin with the facts.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is with us. So we just heard Hegseth say that he had a lot on his schedule the day of that strike. What other details did he talk about Tuesday?
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: He said he gave the initial order to strike the boat and then said he learned the details about the second strike a couple of hours later and said it was a decision made by Admiral Frank Bradley, who leads U.S. Special Operations Command. While Hegseth stressed he personally didn't make the call for a follow-on strike, he said Bradley had the complete authority to do so.
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HEGSETH: And by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.
WALSH: You know, it's worth noting that Hegseth's comments yesterday are different from his initial response when The Washington Post first reported on these strikes, and he criticized the reporting. Now he's acknowledging there was the second strike. President Trump, for his part, said he knew the military took out the boat, but he didn't know whether it was one strike or two or three, and he wasn't involved in it.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what are top Republicans on Capitol Hill saying about the attack?
WALSH: Both House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune say they back the move by House and Senate Armed Services committees to review the boat strikes and expect to get answers. The speaker said he wouldn't prejudge anything before they get the facts. Committees are expected to seek video and audio of the operation. Questions on the Hill really center around whether the second strike broke U.S. law or would be considered a war crime if the administration's claim to be at war with narcotraffickers is accepted. And members of both parties want to review evidence and this timeline. Majority Leader Thune said he backed current U.S. policy, saying he agreed the administration had the authority for these attacks in the Caribbean. But when Thune was asked directly about whether he has confidence in Hegseth, he sidestepped the question.
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JOHN THUNE: Well, I think that the fundamental question is, is the country safer than it was under the Biden administration? I think the answer to that is unequivocally yes.
WALSH: Thune said the Trump administration's peace through strength policies are working, and Hegseth is part of the team that put those in place. But he also added that Hegseth serves at the pleasure of the president. Not exactly an endorsement of the secretary.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So it seems like both GOP leaders of the House and Senate want at least some answers. Any word on how they'll try to get them?
WALSH: You know, we haven't seen a lot of oversight from Republican committee chairmen in the first year of the Trump administration. But I will say, on this issue, both chairs in the House and Senate came out really quickly and vowed vigorous oversight of these boat strikes. It's unclear if they're going to have public hearings or classified sessions. Admiral Bradley's in town and is expected to brief lawmakers later this week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants Hegseth to release the video of the attack, and he's demanding that he testify publicly.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh. Thanks a lot.
WALSH: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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