As the first Cabinet member to speak, Hegseth doubled down on the Pentagon targeting alleged drug boats, including in the case of the boat that the White House has acknowledged was struck twice.
“As I’ve said and will say again, we’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean,” Hegseth said. “Because they have been poisoning the American people. And Joe Biden tried to approach it with kid gloves.”
“We’re stopping the drugs, we’re striking the boats, we’re defeating narco-terrorists,” he added.
Hegseth also said the administration stands by commanders making tough decisions.
“As President Trump always has our back, we always have the backs of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations. And we do in this case, and all these strikes. They’re making judgment calls, ensuring that they defend the American people. They’ve done the right things, we’ll keep doing that, and we have their backs, Mr. President,” he said.
Before the Cabinet meeting, Hegseth’s press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, said during a briefing at the Pentagon that the president and secretary are ultimately the ones responsible for the strikes.
“At the end of the day, the secretary and the president are the ones directing these strikes,” the Pentagon press secretary said. “And any follow-on strikes like those which were directed by Admiral Bradley, the secretary 100% agrees with.”