Senate Armed Services Committee leaders are threatening to withhold 75 percent of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon answers pressing congressional questions, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The provisions were included in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, which the Republican-led panel approved 18-9 last Wednesday before being formally filed on Tuesday.
The travel fund freeze is directly tied to two major controversies: unedited video footage of lethal strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean, and details surrounding the bombing of an Iranian girls’ elementary school.
The school in question is located in Minab, Iran, and was struck on February 28 in the opening hours of the U.S. military assault on Iran, killing roughly 150 individuals, most of them children.
Pentagon officials have confirmed the incident is under investigation but have stopped short of publicly acknowledging whether American munitions caused the destruction.
Preliminary Pentagon findings determined the strike was likely a U.S. Tomahawk missile, though no official has publicly confirmed American responsibility for the attack.
The Caribbean boat strikes represent the second major flashpoint, with the U.S. death toll from those operations having surpassed 205 people since attacks began on September 2 off the coast of Venezuela.
Hegseth has refused to release full, unedited footage of the September strikes, telling reporters in December the material is “top secret” with no plans for public release, though he said Congress could view a restricted version.
The current legislative push escalates an earlier effort, in which lawmakers passed and President Donald Trump signed defense legislation restricting a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget to compel the Pentagon to hand over requested materials.
In total, the Senate Armed Services Committee linked Hegseth’s travel funds to more than half a dozen separate information requests, including details on three U.S. airstrikes against suspected Houthi military sites in April 2025.
Senators are also demanding information about an unspecified investigation conducted by U.S. Special Operations Command in January, reflecting a broader pattern of frustration with Pentagon transparency.
Lawmakers, including some of Trump’s Republican allies, have complained that Pentagon leadership has kept them in the dark on major national security decisions, including the administration’s emerging Iran peace deal.
Most Democrats opposed the $1.15 trillion defense bill over what they described as insufficient restraints on the Trump administration’s conduct of the Iran war and ongoing Caribbean boat strikes.
The bill does include bipartisan measures targeting Hegseth’s tenure, among them a requirement that the Pentagon notify Congress within five days of the early departure or firing of any three- or four-star general or admiral.
That provision follows Hegseth’s dismissal of numerous senior military officers without public explanation, a pattern that has drawn criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
When asked about the school bombing investigation during a visit to France, President Trump deferred responsibility, telling reporters: “I could have a report for you tomorrow. I would ask Pete Hegseth that question because they have it under investigation.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) went further, calling for Hegseth’s resignation over the strike and telling CNN: “I don’t think we have had the oversight and accountability that we are entitled to. We have yet to have an open hearing on the Iran war in the Armed Services Committee.”
The provisions targeting Hegseth’s travel budget are not included in the competing NDAA bill passed by the House Armed Services Committee, meaning the two chambers will need to negotiate a compromise version in the months ahead.
