The Senate Armed Services Committee froze 75 percent of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget as part of its annual defense policy bill, escalating pressure on the Pentagon to release footage of controversial military strikes and provide details about a deadly bombing in Iran.
The freeze, approved by the Republican-led panel, withholds travel funds unless the Pentagon turns over unedited videos of lethal strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and provides more information about the bombing of an Iranian girls’ elementary school, according to Politico.
This marks a significant escalation from December 2025, when lawmakers passed defense legislation restricting just 25 percent of Hegseth’s travel budget over the same issues. The renewed provisions signal that Congress still has not received the information it demands despite the earlier restriction.
The boat strikes began in September 2025 as part of Operation Southern Spear, targeting suspected drug traffickers in waters off Latin America. More than 200 individuals have been killed in these strikes since September 2025, according to Politico. A particularly controversial September 2 strike involved what lawmakers have called a “double tap”—a second strike that killed survivors of an initial attack clinging to an overturned boat hull in the Caribbean.
Hegseth has refused to release the full, unedited video of the September strikes, citing national security concerns. The Pentagon chief told reporters in December that the footage is “top secret” and that there are no plans for public release, though he indicated Congress could view a version under restricted conditions.
The second focus of the freeze concerns a bombing on February 28 that struck an elementary school in Minab, Iran, in the opening hours of the U.S. military assault on Iran. Roughly 150 individuals, mostly children, were killed in that strike. Pentagon officials have said the incident is under investigation but have not confirmed whether American munitions caused the damage.
The panel linked Hegseth’s travel funds to more than a half-dozen requests for information, including details on three American air strikes against suspected Houthi military sites in April 2025 and an unspecified investigation by U.S. Special Operations Command in January, according to Politico.
The Senate measure faces a long road to becoming law. The House Armed Services Committee’s competing defense bill does not include similar language restricting Hegseth’s travel budget, meaning the funding freeze must survive negotiations between the two chambers over the coming months.
The provisions reflect bipartisan congressional frustration with Pentagon leadership’s handling of congressional inquiries. Some of President Trump’s Republican allies have joined Democrats in demanding greater transparency about major national security decisions, particularly regarding the nascent Iran peace deal the Trump administration has been promoting in Washington.
Sources
- Politico — Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill freezing 75 percent of Hegseth’s travel budget, escalation from December 2025 restriction, boat strikes since September 2025, Iran school bombing details, and bipartisan congressional frustration
- The Washington Post — Senate action on Hegseth’s travel budget over Iran school attack and boat strikes
- The Hill — Senate Armed Services Committee provisions targeting Hegseth’s travel budget
