White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters the admiral approved a second strike on the boat and was well within his legal right to do so.

The White House has scrambled in recent days to respond to reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an elite military unit to kill everyone on board an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in early September,

The White House on Monday defended a U.S. admiral's decision to conduct multiple strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel in September, saying he had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's authorization,

President Donald Trump said he believes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who denied he ordered a second strike to kill survivors on a suspected drug boat.

Bipartisan scrutiny of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reported order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean grew Monday as the Trump administration worked to contain the fallout.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under scrutiny over a Washington Post report that he ordered U.S. forces to kill everyone on board an alleged drug boat, which could be a war crime.