GOP senator demands answers after 'incompetent' White House backtrack on boat strikes

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gestures during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, became the latest notable figure on Monday to hit back against the White House's claims about the "double tap" boat strike, wondering to Semafor if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was "incompetent" or "lying."

Last week, the Washington Post reported that on September 2, U.S. forces fired on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, then fired on it again when it was determined that some of the occupants had survived. This reportedly came as the result of a directive from Hegseth to "kill them all." These strikes, claimed with little evidence to be drug traffickers, had already been a source of major controversy for the Trump administration, but this report saw many experts accusing Hegseth of a war crime and outright murder.

Despite of Pentagon press representative initially denying the entire story, White Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the double strike had occurred, but stressed that the direct order came from Admiral Frank M. Bradley, based on a directive from Hegseth. She also claimed repeatedly that the strikes were done in accordance with laws governing armed conflict.

This resulted in a tidal wave of renewed criticism, with many accusing the administration of trying to protect Hegseth by throwing Bradley "under the bus" for the incident. The critiques came from all sides as well, as Semafor reporter Burgess Everett relayed in a post to X about a conversation with Paul. The reporter described the Republican, who has emerged as a frequent detractor of President Donald Trump, "really fired up about this."

"Yesterday they said, ‘absolutely Pete says he didn't do it,'" Paul said, according to Everett. "And then today, they admit that he did it. You think there would be ramifications. Was he incompetent enough not to know that it happened? Or was he lying yesterday?"

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