Hegseth has denied issuing a “kill everybody” instruction for the Sept. 2 strikes, and during the briefing on Capitol Hill, Adm. Bradley also vehemently denied that Hegseth ordered his subordinates to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel.

Hegseth finds himself in hot water over legally murky airstrikes on suspected drug smugglers at sea. A follow-up attack on survivors of one such attack is now generating accusations of a possible war crime. Hegseth said an admiral ordered the second launch.

Republicans and Democrats agreed he didn't order killing everyone on an alleged drug boat. That's where the consensus ended.

In the high-frequency churn of President Donald Trump’s first term, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s repeated missteps would have fueled guessing games about his imminent firing. In the second, he has maintained White House support — at least for now.

“ Late Show ” host Stephen Colbert on Thursday teased Pete Hegseth with a blast from the past after the Pentagon’s watchdog found the defense secretary’s use of the Signal messaging app risked “potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not issue an order to "kill everybody" before a second boat strike, Adm. Frank Bradley told Congress on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has seven kids between his ex-wife, Samantha Deering, and his wife, Jennifer Hegseth. Here's everything to know about Pete Hegseth's kids.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says in the video that there must be "consequences" for carrying out unlawful orders.