Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Demanding Secretary Hegseth Release The Tapes Of The Caribbean Boat Strikes And Testify Publicly To Provide Oversight For This Dangerous Escalation
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the imminent need for Secretary Hegseth to release the complete tapes of the September 2nd boat strikes, and also testify publicly before Congress so that there is transparency between the administration and the American people on the escalating tensions in the Caribbean. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
The failure of the leadership at the Department of Defense is a national embarrassment.
The mess Secretary Hegseth creates regularly shows the consequences of picking an inexperienced Fox News host to lead a massively complex, life-or-death federal agency. Donald Trump is learning the hard way: If you pick a Fox News cable host to lead the largest, most complicated federal agency of all, you get burnt. And Secretary Hegseth is just way beyond what anyone would imagine how bad he is at that department.
In the past few days, more questions have arisen about Secretary Hegseth’s orders to attack alleged drug-trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela. It is possible those strikes—which may have included verbal orders from the Secretary of Defense to “kill everybody” on these boats—violated the law.
But this is the problem: the American people still don’t know exactly what happened because Pete Hegseth refuses to tell the truth. Months ago, right after the strikes, Pete Hegseth went on Fox News and bragged that he was present at every moment of the operation. He said on Fox that he “watched it live.” He said the same to us in person. But then last night, he tweeted that his Admiral was actually the one who made all combat decisions.
This is so spineless. Pete Hegseth won’t hesitate for a moment to talk a big game and take credit if he thinks it makes him look good. But the minute trouble arises, suddenly Pete Hegseth says someone else was making the decision.
There is a very easy way for the American people to get the truth. Pete Hegseth should release the full tapes of the September 2nd attack—both the first and second strike. Not a clip, not some edited or redacted snippet—the full, unedited tapes of each strike must be released, so the American people can see what happened with their own eyes.
Now, Pete Hegseth says he did nothing wrong. So, prove it. If it’s true, he should have nothing to fear from the truth. But if he refuses to release the tapes, if he stonewalls, if he keeps hiding the facts, then the question becomes unavoidable: What is Pete Hegseth hiding? What does Pete Hegseth not want the American people to see? Is it that his story doesn’t add up? We don’t know—because Pete Hegseth, right now, is hiding the truth.
And sadly, that has become a theme with this administration: when facts are inconvenient, they cover up. So, Secretary Hegseth: release the tapes.
I also want to commend my Senate colleagues, including the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, Senators Wicker and Reed, for working together in good faith, in a bipartisan way, to conduct oversight of these boat strikes. I support those efforts wholeheartedly.
One of the first things we need is a classified briefing from the DOD, the Department of Defense, about exactly what happened during these operations. And let me be clear: Secretary Hegseth must be part of those briefings. We need documentation. And we need the tapes. But we should go one step further. Secretary Hegseth should testify publicly before the committee, under oath, so that the American people can hear the facts.
The truth should not be kept behind closed doors—the fresh air of public scrutiny should be let in. The public has a right to know. That’s why Pete Hegseth must testify publicly, and, most importantly, why he must release the full tapes of the attacks.
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