Schumer: Hegseth Briefing Was 'Very Unsatisfying'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday that he was still weighing whether to release the full video of an attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors, even as he faced intensifying demands from Congress for disclosure.

• Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe at the Capitol. Inside the secure room, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer asked the defense secretary whether he would allow every member of Congress to view the video of the attack from September, the AP reports. Schumer said Hegseth's response was: "We have to study it."

• Schumer described the briefing as "very unsatisfying" and added that "Democrats and Republicans had a right to see it, wanted to see it, and should see it."
• Lawmakers are demanding a full accounting from the Department of Defense on the military campaign and the particular attack that killed two people who were clinging to the wreckage of an initial strike. Legal experts say that action may have violated the laws governing the use of deadly military force.
• Trump this week justified the strike by claiming that the two suspected drug smugglers were trying to right part of the boat after it had capsized in the initial attack. However, Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, the special operations commander who ordered the second strike, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing last week that he ordered the second strike to ensure that the cocaine in the boat could not be picked up later by cartel members.
• The entire House Armed Services Committee will also hear from Bradley next week, said Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the panel. "We need an all-member briefing for the House of Representatives," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told the AP.
• Trump said last week that he would have "no problem" releasing the video. On Monday, when ABC's Rachel Scott asked him about the remarks, Trump said, "I didn't say that." When she pressed him on the issue, he lashed out at her, calling her "obnoxious" and a "terrible reporter," the Hill reports. "Whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me," he said.

• Separately Tuesday, the US Navy admiral who is retiring early from command of the campaign to destroy vessels allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela spoke to key lawmakers overseeing the US military. Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to discuss the specifics of the call, but described Holsey as a "great public servant." He also said that the Pentagon is weighing whether releasing the video would disclose classified information.
• In its annual defense authorization bill, which was crafted by both Republicans and Democrats, Congress is demanding that the Pentagon turn over unedited video of the strikes, as well as the orders authorizing the attacks. The legislation threatens to withhold a quarter of Hegseth's travel budget if he refuses.
• "There is a growing demand that everyone get a right in the Senate to see it," said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He added that Holsey answered the senators' questions but also said that "there are still many questions to be answered." Reed later added that Holsey did not give a reason for his retirement other than saying it was a personal decision.