Hegseth says he 'would have made the same call' on second Sept. 2 boat strike

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday defended the Sept. 2 strike that killed the survivors of an initial U.S. military attack on an alleged drug boat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday defended the Sept. 2 strike that killed the survivors of an initial U.S. military attack on an alleged drug boat.

Hegseth made the remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum during a conversation with Fox News correspondent Lucas Y. Tomlinson. He told Tomlinson that he had left the room after the first strike and before the order for the second strike was given but said that he would have made the same decision.

“A couple hours later [after moving on], I was told, hey, there had to be a reattack, because there were a couple folks who could still be in the fight,” Hegseth told Tomlinson. “Access to radios. There was a linkup point of another potential boat. Drugs were still there. They were actively interacting with them.”

“I said, ‘Roger, sounds good,’” Hegseth said.

On Sept. 2, the U.S. military twice struck a boat that the Trump administration alleged was carrying drugs, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the Pentagon’s actions previously told NBC News. Two survivors remained after the first strike, the official said, and the second strike killed them.