Pete Hegseth is either ‘incompetent’ or ‘lying’ over Venezuela strike, Rand Paul says

Republican Senator Rand Paul has accused Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, of either being 'incompetent' or 'lying' after Hegseth denied ordering a second strike to 'kill everybody' during a Venezuelan boat attack. The U.S. has launched over a dozen attacks against alleged drug-carrying vessels, killing more than 80 people. Hegseth initially denied the claims but later admitted that a second strike occurred. President Trump backed Hegseth, but admitted he would not have wanted a second strike on survivors. The White House stated that the admiral, not Hegseth, ordered the second strike. A bipartisan group of senators has announced an investigation into the allegations. Members of Congress have questioned the legality of the boat strikes, alleging that the Trump administration's lethal campaign amounts to extrajudicial killings, with several lawmakers calling the alleged two-strike attack an apparent war crime.