Experts Reject Legality Behind Hegseth's 'Kill Everyone' Strike Order: 'Clearly Unlawful to Kill People Who Are Clinging to a Boat'

The debate follows a Washington Post report claiming that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth verbally directed forces to "kill everybody" during a strike conducted as part of the Trump administration's counter-narcotics campaign. Two survivors were reportedly left clinging to wreckage before a second strike killed them.

Hegseth has denied ordering the deaths, calling the reporting "fake news," while the White House confirmed a second strike occurred and said it was ordered by Adm. Frank Bradley, "well within his authority and the law." President Donald Trump said he "wouldn't have wanted" the follow-up strike and added that Hegseth told him "he did not order the death of those two men."

Administration officials argue the operations are justified because the U.S. is in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels but experts, however, disagree. Schmitt told AP that the situation does not meet the legal threshold for armed conflict, and even if it did, "it has been clear for well over a century that you may not declare what's called 'no quarter' — take no survivors, kill everyone."

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group and former State Department lawyer, added that if no armed conflict exists, "the term for a premeditated killing outside of armed conflict is murder," adding that "murder on the high seas is a crime" under U.S. law.

Congressional scrutiny has intensified around the issue with both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees opening bipartisan investigations. Sen. Rand Paul said there is "broad consensus that it's illegal to kill people who are clinging to wreckage," while Sen. Thom Tillis stated lawmakers "need to get to the bottom of it."

Schmitt added that lethal force is only lawful if there is an imminent threat, which he said was not the case once survivors were incapacitated in the water. The Pentagon's own Law of War Manual notes that "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal."

Despite the concerns, Hegseth defended the ongoing campaign in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday saying the U.S. has "only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean."