Congress is turning to extortion to force the Pentagon to release video of a deadly strike on drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, moving to hold Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s travel budget hostage if he doesn’t comply.
Democrats and their GOP allies have seized on the September 2 military operation that took place off the Venezuelan coast, where a second strike was used to finish off two surviving narco-terrorists, the basis for another ginned-up scandal and the latest effort to remove Hegseth from the chain of command and replace him with someone not loyal to President Donald J. Trump.
In a move to pressure Hegseth, lawmakers are looking to withhold a quarter of his travel budget if the Pentagon doesn’t give them the video, burying the provision deep inside a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual funding bill that traditionally draws bipartisan support.
Congress to withhold Pentagon travel funds until it sees boat strike videos https://t.co/DMCUaBSM5a
— POLITICO (@politico) December 8, 2025
In news that was first reported by Politico, the provision calls for “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command” to be given to the Armed Services Committees of both the House and Senate.
The bill, which authorizes $901 billion in defense spending, was unveiled by lawmakers over the weekend with the provision appearing “more than 800 pages into the 3,086-page bill,” according to CBS News.
“Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2026 for operation and maintenance, defense-wide, and available for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for travel expenses, not more than 75 percent may be obligated or expended” until he complies, reads the bill’s text, which was excerpted by The Hill.
Leftist lawmakers and their media friends have suggested that the footage will prove that the strike on the boat was a war crime that, in the words of Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), was “essentially murder.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth accuses Pete Hegseth of “murder” and “war crimes” for striking narco-terrorists.
She then admits she hasn’t seen the videos or read the after action reports but only knows “what’s available in the media.” pic.twitter.com/tgeZoVSpgr
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 7, 2025
The video will be the centerpiece of an intense propaganda campaign and investigations aplenty, with Democrats clamoring to get a shot at Hegseth in what will surely be a media spectacle.
“If they release the video, then everything that the Republicans are saying will clearly be portrayed to be completely false,” House Armed Services ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday morning.
“We should do a full-scale investigation,” Smith said during a Saturday interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum, according to Politico. “I think we should have … up and down the chain of command, any written documents … and then a public hearing where Secretary Hegseth explains, while being questioned by the committee, what did you do here and why.”
- Teachers put on leave after celebrating on video over alleged Iranian threats against Trump - January 17, 2026
- Jacob Frey sets condition that would prompt Dems to stop whipping up chaos, violence - January 17, 2026
- Why does the NFL suck? Top league exec says that he’s ’embarrassed’ by America - January 17, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.