Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez stood by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following a report claiming that he ordered that all members aboard an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean be killed, alleged actions that prompted Democrats to say he may have committed war crimes.
Speaking on Fox Business, Gimenez said he believed it was "strange" that "you have Democrats coming up with a video saying do not follow illegal orders and then all of a sudden" the report about Hegseth's alleged order surfaced. He was making reference to the video posted by six Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds, who told officers they could disobey unlawful orders.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez on Hegseth: "These are anonymous kind of whistleblowers saying something happened here, so I smell a rat. I'm pretty sure the Secretary of Defense had nothing to do with something like that, and it's just a way of distracting from what really happened in DC… pic.twitter.com/YMQJJiOuTe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 1, 2025
"These are anonymous kind of whistleblowers saying something happened here, so I smell a rat. I'm pretty sure the Secretary of Defense had nothing to do with something like that, and it's just a way of distracting from what really happened in DC last week where you had the murder of a National Guardsmen and the wounding of another by an Afghan refugee. I think it's a distraction. I'm with the president on this one. I don't believe the reports," Gimenez added.
However, several lawmakers have come out to criticize Hegseth, and Republican-led Committees in the House and the Senate announced they will conduct respective investigations regarding the incident.
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement along with Democratic counterpart Jack Reed vowing to investigate the reported order.
They claimed to be "aware of recent news report — and the Department of Defense's initial response — regarding alleged follow-on strikes on suspected narcotics vessels," and said they will be conducting "vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances."
Likewise, the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee, including GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, said they are "taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question."
The report in question noted that Hegseth ordered that all people aboard the vessel be killed by a U.S. strike in September, prompting the military to conduct a second strike to finish off survivors.
President Donald Trump, on his end, said he "wouldn't have wanted a second strike" against the vessel. Speaking to press aboard the Air Force one, Trump was asked specifically about the report and whether a second strike that finished off survivors would have been legal.
"I don't know that happened and Pete said he did not even know what people were talking about. We'll look into it. I wouldn't have wanted a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine. Pete said that didn't happen. I have great confidence. Pete said he didn't order the death of those two men," Trump said.
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