Hegseth disavowed responsibility amid a congressional outcry over the Sept. 2 follow-up attack on the wrecked vessel.
Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis
“I watched that first. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we have got a lot of things to do, so I didn’t stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever,” Hegseth said.
“I moved on to my next meeting. A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the [decision] — which he had the complete authority to do,” he added.
“And by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat. He sunk the boat, sunk the boat and eliminated the threat … We have his back, and the American people are safer.”
