• Senate Majority Leader Thune refuses to offer evaluation of Defense Secretary
• Armed Services Committee members demand classified briefings before commenting
• White House confirms second strike occurred but denies Hegseth gave kill order

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not receive a full vote of confidence Monday from several Republican senators asked whether they still support President Donald Trump’s Pentagon chief. The hesitation comes amid explosive allegations that Hegseth ordered a second deadly strike on survivors of an alleged drug-running boat in the Caribbean.

GOP Senators Withhold Hegseth Confidence

Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to express confidence in Hegseth when pressed by reporters on Capitol Hill. “I don’t have, at this point, I guess, an evaluation of the secretary,” Thune told reporters. “Others can make those evaluations.”

Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also refused to offer support. When asked directly about confidence in Hegseth, Rounds responded that any judgment would depend on the facts as they emerge.

“Until such time we know the full facts, we won’t be making comment.”

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The cautious responses mark a notable departure from the full-throated defense Hegseth typically receives from Republican lawmakers.

Wicker Demands Classified Briefings

Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker told reporters he spoke with Hegseth Monday and requested additional information. “I think it’s best we get our classified briefings so that we’ll have the ground truth and also the documents and video,” Wicker said at the Capitol.

Wicker and ranking Democrat Jack Reed previously announced their committee would conduct vigorous oversight to determine the facts surrounding the September 2 incident. The House Armed Services Committee launched a parallel investigation over the weekend.

White House Confirms Second Strike

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that a second strike did occur but denied Hegseth gave an order to kill survivors. She stated Admiral Frank Bradley conducted the strikes under Hegseth’s authorization.

“Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed,” Leavitt said during the White House briefing.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday there is “no question” a war crime was committed if the Washington Post’s reporting proves accurate.

Trump Defends Hegseth

President Trump expressed confidence in his Defense Secretary Sunday, saying he believes Hegseth “100 percent” when he denied issuing the alleged order. However, Trump also distanced himself from the second strike decision, stating he “wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Hegseth has dismissed the reporting as “fake news” while defending the broader Caribbean strike campaign as lawful operations against designated narco-terrorists.

Will classified briefings change Republican support for the embattled Defense Secretary?

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