Senate Republicans have abruptly shifted to holding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accountable after more than eighteen months during which critics have described Pentagon operations as rogue, warning that they will cut back his travel funding by a sizable margin unless he provides the requested documentation on lethal boat strikes in the Atlantic and Pacific, the February double-tap that killed more than 120 Iranian schoolchildren, and the dismissals of senior military leaders.
Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee have tucked a measure into the multi-trillion-dollar defense policy bill that would dramatically shrink Hegseth’s travel budget by 75% unless he delivers the records the Republicans are seeking.
Lawmakers had already pared 25% of the former Fox News host’s travel funds last year, according to Politico, after Hegseth failed to provide complete video evidence of the strikes on alleged drug boats in Latin American waters, which have claimed more than 200 lives, and it seems Congress is still awaiting that material.
The committee filed the bill in the Senate on Tuesday as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that members approved in early June.
Republicans also want more information on the U.S. bombing of a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on the first day of President Donald Trump’s war on Tehran on Feb. 28, which killed more than 160 people, most of them schoolgirls, news outlets have reported.
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The Pentagon continues to say the deadly strike is under investigation, and officials have not yet confirmed that the U.S. military mistakenly bombed the school.
Also at issue is that Hegseth has dismissed dozens of top-ranking military officers without explanation. The committee’s defense bill includes a provision requiring the Pentagon to inform Congress within seven days of the firing or departure of any three- or four-star generals. The House version of the bill carries the same clause, Politico reported.
Hegseth is also facing questions about blocking military promotions. The Hill reports that he has refused to advance Navy and Air Force promotions for a mainly Black, female cohort of officers.
And Trump dismissed a question about the school bombing on Wednesday, June 17. A reporter asked him whether he plans to hold anyone in his administration accountable for the deaths of so many children.
Trump, astonishingly, called it a “strange question.”
“No, if it was a fault, as you know it’s under investigation, uh, such a strange question to ask at this stage, you’re talking about a long time ago, but nobody did that on purpose,” Trump answered nonsensically.
Social media erupted in fury over Hegseth’s dodging and delaying of critical information that federal lawmakers have every right to examine.
“My question – why has it taken this long? It’s been, what, 4 months on the girls’ school and 6-7 months on the fishing boats!!?” a Threads user lamented.
Another user urged a more serious approach: “Dude needs to be impeached and prosecuted.”
Others agreed, “Petey has to comply, otherwise IMPEACH HIM ALREADY, jeez.”
Yet in the end, the fate of the measure may be moot, since the House has already passed its own defense bill that imposes no restrictions on Hegseth’s travel budget. The two versions would typically be reconciled, but with both chambers at odds, the outcome remains uncertain.
