Republicans turn on Pete Hegseth and threaten to slash his travel over secret bombings

By CHASE HOPE, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 17:19, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 17:26, 18 June 2026 The Republican-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee has threatened to slash Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's travel budget unless he comes clean on his various US bombing campaigns.  Provisions in a committee-approved draft of the annual National Defense Authorization Act would withhold 75 percent of Hegseth's travel funds if he does not provide senators with information he is allegedly withholding. The committee voted 18-9 to advance the legislation, which committee leadership filed on Tuesday. Hegseth is currently traveling, speaking earlier Thursday alongside other NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium.  Senators want more information on the Pentagon's strikes on alleged drug boats, as well as the harrowing pulverization of an Iranian school in February. US forces have been targeting alleged drug boats in Operation Southern Spear since last September, killing a total of 208 people after another strike Tuesday, according to the Independent.  Lawmakers had previously raised the alarm in particular over a September incident in which US forces allegedly hit a boat twice, killing the survivors of the first strike. The school was destroyed on the first day of US-Israel attacks against Iran on February 28, reportedly killing over 150 people, mostly children. Secretary Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 30 Before and after images of an alleged drug boat struck by US forces, from a US Southern Command video posted on X in February 2026 Some reports suggest that an errant US missile struck the school.  The Department of War has said that the school strike is under investigation, and President Donald Trump confirmed as much to reporters at the G7 conference this week. But evidently senators on the Armed Services Committee want more. Senators are also seeking information on 2025 strikes against the Houthis.  The draft bill must be approved by the rest of the Senate and then the House before it becomes law.  The House Armed Services Committee released a similar bill without the restrictions on Hegseth, according to Politico.  Senators had previously frozen a smaller proportion of Hegseth's travel funds in an effort to get videos of the boat strikes. That provision was included in last year's version of the same bill, which Trump signed into law in December 2025.  The Pentagon told the Daily Mail it declined to comment on pending legislation.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.