A North Carolina Republican lawmaker said Monday that whoever ordered the second strike on survivors of the Pentagon's boat attack—"if substantiated"—needs "to get the hell out of Washington."
Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis said "we still need to get to the bottom" of the incident, but it would amount to “a violation of an ethical, moral or legal code" if true.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the U.S. military had carried out the strike on survivors of the initial attack, and said Special Operations Command head Admiral Frank Bradley was “within his authority and the law” in approving the second assault.
Lawmakers from both parties are demanding greater congressional oversight after The Washington Post revealed that a U.S. commander on a September 2 mission in the southern Caribbean allegedly ordered a follow-up strike that killed two survivors to comply with what the paper described as a verbal order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill everyone on board.”
Vice Admiral Bradley will provide a classified briefing to key lawmakers overseeing the military on Thursday.
