US lawmakers are trying to pressure the Trump administration to release video of a controversial double-tap military strike by limiting Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel budget.
The incident on 2 September, in which the US carried out a second deadly strike on a boat in the Caribbean, has raised fresh questions about the legality of Trump's campaign targeting alleged drug-carrying vessels.
A provision buried in a lengthy defence spending policy would restrict travel funds for Hegseth's office until the Pentagon hands over unedited footage. The bill is expected to pass with bipartisan support.
US President Donald Trump asserts that the release of the video is a decision for Hegseth to make.
Trump denied previously stating he would have no problem with footage being publicized, despite having made this remark on camera as recently as Wednesday.
The threat from Congress to withhold funds from Hegseth's travel budget has emerged amid a chorus of demands from lawmakers for more transparency. The stipulation is included in a massive 3,000-page draft bill tied to the next year’s defense funding.
The annual bill authorizes nearly $901 billion in national security funding.
The bill’s wording, first reported by Politico, specifies that Hegseth's office may access only 75% of its travel budget until it provides the House and Senate armed services committees with all unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command.
This provision hints at Trump’s characterization of his strikes as operations against designated terrorist organizations.
In comments directed to the press on Monday, Trump claimed each vessel targeted in the strikes potentially saved 25,000 American lives and insisted that drug trafficking to the US via the sea is vastly diminished.
However, concerns have arisen regarding the legality of the strikes, with many experts raising questions about their justified nature, as bipartisan apprehension mounts over appropriate legal conduct during military operations.
On 2 September specifically, experts highlighted that laws of war mandate the rescue of survivors from a strike, rather than conducting a second attack.
In the initial strike, nine individuals died while two survivors were present when the second strike occurred, resulting in their deaths as well, according to reports.
Despite the fatalities, the administration maintains it operates within the confines of the law of armed conflict, stating the second strike was authorized by a navy admiral and not Hegseth.
Key congressional figures, after being shown the video in a classified briefing, expressed mixed reactions, with one Democrat deeming it deeply troubling, while a Republican called it lawful and necessary.
Trump continues to face questions about the video's release, having remarked last week that he’d be open to it but subsequently refrained from direct commitment. On Tuesday, Hegseth indicated that they were reviewing the process regarding video footage.
