Caribbean Boat Strike

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Mr. President, on the Hegseth briefing of yesterday, during yesterday's Gang of 8 briefing, I asked Secretary Hegseth directly will he let every Member of Congress see the full, unedited tapes of the September 2 boat strike. Secretary Hegseth's answer? He said: We have to study it.

What the hell has he been doing for the last 3 months? Hegseth and the DOD have had more than enough time to study this. It is time for all Members of Congress to see the tapes for themselves.

I told Secretary Hegseth that every Member of Congress, Democrat and Republican of the House and Senate, wants to see the tapes. Both parties are united in demanding that the tapes be released. Our Republican chairman of Armed Services and our Democratic ranking member of Armed Services made a request together. This is not a partisan issue. Both parties are united in demanding the tapes be released not only to Congress but to the American people. The American people want to have the transparency they deserve.

Hegseth is resisting that transparency. What is he hiding, what is the DOD hiding, and what is President Trump hiding? Those are the questions the American people are asking when it comes to Hegseth's coverup of these tapes, these videos.

At the meeting, I also pressed Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth on the administration's recent military action in the Caribbean. I wanted to know: What are their plans? How far are they going? Is Donald Trump about to drag America into another endless war?

And again, I didn't get any satisfying answers.

When it comes to matters of war and peace, Congress needs the truth; the American people need transparency. Anything less is a total disservice to our men and women in uniform and to every citizen of this country.

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