White House Backs Hegseth and Confirms Second Boat Strike (2)

The White House defended the Pentagon’s handling of a September attack on an alleged drug-running boat and denied that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given an order to kill everyone on the vessel, rebutting a report that had led to allegations of possible war crimes.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed there were two strikes on the vessel in the Sept. 2 attack but stressed the actions were lawful amid a deadly domestic opioid crisis in the US. She also said the order for the second strike came from US Navy Admiral Frank Bradley and not Hegseth.

President Donald Trump ...