‘What’s Hegseth Hiding?’ Chuck Schumer Promises to ‘Confront’ Pete Hegseth Over Deadly Boat Strikes

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he plans to “confront” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and “demand” he release the classified footage of a military strike on a suspected drug boat in September — an attack that has been heavily criticized by Democrats, pundits, and some Republicans in recent weeks.

Schumer told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon he would be grilling Hegseth about the strikes later in the evening; Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) are set to brief Schumer and other lawmakers on the strikes.

“I plan to confront Secretary Hegseth on exactly what the hell is going on in the Caribbean,” Schumer said. “I plan to demand Secretary Hegseth give the total, unedited videos of what happened in the September 2 boat strikes.”

He said President Donald Trump was in favor of releasing the videos, only to walk it back and put the decision in Hegseth’s hands.

“What’s Hegseth hiding?” Schumer asked.

His tough talk comes after Hegseth and Trump have taken a lot of heat in recent weeks from reporters, as well as lawmakers, over the September 2 strike.

Critics have said Hegseth committed a war crime by ordering a second strike on two survivors, after nine people were initially killed. That controversy stems from a Washington Post report that Hegseth ordered to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel; Hegseth has denied that report.

The New York Times reported soon after reported that Hegseth’s “order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast.” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said last week that Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley denied WaPo’s report as well.

The Trump Administration has conducted more than 20 similar strikes on suspected drug boats since early September.

Schumer added he was upset with Trump’s threat to kill “narco-terrorists” on land, not just on the sea, last week. Trump said drug dealers in Venezuela could be targeted, among other countries.

“I will demand of Rubio and Hegseth, what the hell is going on in the Caribbean and in Venezuela? What are their plans? How far do they plan to go?” Schumer said.

He then pondered if Trump’s disdain for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro would “drag America into an endless war.” Schumer, who voted in favor of the Iraq War, said the American people deserve to know more.

Watch above, via C-SPAN.

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