Updated Dec. 8, 2025 — Washington
President Trump on Monday walked back an earlier on-camera remark suggesting he supported making public any video of a reported second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in early September. At a White House event, he said he never took that position and left the decision to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Last week, the president told reporters he did not know what footage existed of the follow-up strike, “but whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.” On Saturday, however, Hegseth declined to promise the Pentagon would publish its footage, saying officials “have to be very responsible about reviewing” material before releasing it.
The Sept. 2 operation reportedly included a second strike that killed two people who had survived an initial attack on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. When a reporter at Monday’s Cabinet Room event referred to his earlier remark about having “no problem” releasing the full video, Mr. Trump interrupted, saying, “I didn’t say that,” and added, “Whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”
The strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs have stirred growing concern on Capitol Hill. Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to brief congressional leaders and senior members of intelligence committees in both chambers, according to two people familiar with the planning.
Lawmakers’ anxieties have increased amid questions over whether survivors were deliberately targeted in the Sept. 2 follow-up strike. The White House last week confirmed the military carried out a second strike but insisted the action was legal. Mr. Trump posted a 29-second clip of the initial strike on Truth Social on Sept. 2, but the administration has not released a full video of the follow-up attack.
Members of Congress who were shown the full footage in a closed briefing reacted along partisan lines: Democrats called the strike on survivors unjustified, while Republicans defended it. Since Sept. 2, U.S. forces have conducted more than 20 additional strikes tied to the Biden administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, operations officials say have killed more than 80 people.
Separately, some lawmakers are pressing the Pentagon for unedited footage. In a compromise version of the annual defense bill, Congress is seeking to withhold part of Hegseth’s travel budget until lawmakers receive the unedited video of the strikes.