Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued new orders against military officials speaking with Congress about the Trump administration’s military operations in the Caribbean Sea.
His new directive, issued via internal guidance late last week, places all “sensitive military operations,” including U.S. strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels,” under formal review before any lawmaker testimony can be given—meaning top brass will have to seek permission before discussing the matter with the House, according to CNN.
The refined guidance comes after Hegseth sparked widespread internal confusion last Month, issuing a blanket ban on any military officials speaking with Congress or state-level lawmakers without express approval from the DOD’s Office of Legislative Affairs. He’s also pushed defense reporters to sign NDAs with his department.
Other topics now requiring “prior coordination” with Hegseth and his staff include “Havana Syndrome,” health incidents at U.S. military bases abroad and reforms to foreign military sales, as well as plans for the construction of Donald Trump’s ersatz “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
The change in policy comes as the MAGA administration faces increased pressure over the alleged illegality of its strikes against suspected narcoboats off Latin American shores.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Beginning in early September, the White House has carried out a bombing campaign that it says targets international drug traffickers through attacks on vessels allegedly operated by cartels, like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
Hegseth and other officials assert the campaign is part of a broader “armed conflict” with those actors. Critics argue that without a formal declaration of war, or authorization from Congress, the use of lethal force in international waters against those suspected rather than convicted of drug trafficking violates both U.S. and international law.
The defense secretary’s personal war against unauthorized disclosures, which has reportedly involved the use of polygraph testing against DOD personnel, comes hot on the heels of an embarrassing series of leaks and blunders in the months since he first assumed the office earlier this year.
Perhaps most notably, Hegseth has himself come under fire for unwittingly leaking sensitive details of military strikes against Yemen after a journalist was accidentally added to one of his group chats on encrypted messaging app Signal.
The defense secretary is known to make extensive use of the platform, which is not presently authorized for official communications anywhere under U.S. law.
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