The White House is standing by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after a report emerged surrounding a Sept. 2 operation against an apparent drug-carrying vessel near Venezuela. CBS News' Olivia Rinaldi reports,

The Defense secretary has carved out an unorthodox political niche that has helped insulate him from criticism inside the administration, at least for now.

Pete Hegseth’s reliance on using a Donald Trump deflection as allegations of incompetence, criminality and Pentagon infighting continue to grow is starting to wear thin, according to one former Trump White House insider.

Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, came under growing pressure from Democratic and Republican lawmakers who said that a second strike on the wreck of an alleged drug-smuggling vessel may have been a war crime.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of a strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a boat allegedly carrying cocaine in the Caribbean.

White House confirms and defends second strike against alleged drug smugglers in Caribbean waters, amid Trump administration's anti-drug crusade.

One official said of Leavitt’s statement, “It’s throwing us, the service members, under the bus.” Another person said some of Hegseth’s top civilian staff appeared deeply alarmed about the

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September