CSPAN - Rubio & Hegseth on Boat Strikes
Aired: 2025-12-17
Duration: 01:50


=== Ongoing Mission Briefing (01:50) ===

[00:00:00]  Multiple criteria that take place.
[00:00:01]  If one of them's not missing, then we do interdiction.
[00:00:05]  And there's been more interdiction over this same period than we have actually had strikes.
[00:00:11]  No.
[00:00:11]  No, and I'm sorry, I gotta go.
[00:00:12]  Thank you, Dan.
[00:00:14]  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke briefly with reporters about the Trump administration's decision to strike boats in the Caribbean.
[00:00:23]  They also talk about the Defense Department's decision to not release the full unedited video to the public.
[00:00:29]  South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham says he supports the Trump administration's decision to strike boats in the Caribbean, but questions the overall objective.
[00:00:40]  Thank you guys.
[00:00:41]  Obviously, we had a classified hearing, so the details of which we can't discuss.
[00:00:44]  It's, I believe, our 22nd or 23rd bipartisan engagement.
[00:00:48]  We'll continue to engage with Congress on this.
[00:00:50]  We're headed to the House now to do a similar briefing and provide updates on this counter-drug mission, which is focused on dismantling the infrastructure of these terrorist organizations that are operating in our hemisphere, undermining the security of Americans, killing Americans, poisoning Americans.
[00:01:07]  And this has been a highly successful mission that's ongoing and continued.
[00:01:10]  And we're pleased to be here today to update Congress on how that's developing and how that's moving forward.
[00:01:15]  As I said, I believe it's our 22nd, 23rd such engagement, certainly been at least the fourth or fifth that I've been involved in, and those will remain and be ongoing.
[00:01:26]  I would just echo that.
[00:01:27]  It is the 22nd bipartisan briefing we've had on a highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations, cartels, bringing weapons, weapons meaning drugs, to the American people and poisoning the American people for far too long.
[00:01:42]  So we're proud of what we're doing, able to lay it out very directly to these senators and soon to the House.
[00:01:48]  It's all classified, we can't talk about it now.