U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives at the U.S. Capitol ahead of a briefing with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 5, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Some congressional Republicans expressed concern about U.S. military actions off Venezuela's coast and joined Democrats in pledging to look into possible multiple strikes on fishing boats, although there was no word on Monday of any briefings or hearings.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt defended the strikes on Monday, saying they were within the law and authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after some members of Congress said the second strike in early September on one boat to kill survivors might have been illegal.

The boat strikes are the second issue in one week to trigger objections from Republicans, who have otherwise strongly supported virtually all of President Donald Trump's policy initiatives since his second term began in January.

Last week, several Republican lawmakers harshly criticized the White House over its handling of a proposed Ukraine peace plan they said favors Russia.

The latest concerns came after the Washington Post reported on Friday that Hegseth "gave a spoken directive" to kill everyone on board one of the vessels on September 3.

HEGSETH HAD DENIED ORDERING SECOND STRIKE

Hegseth had vehemently denied that he ordered a second strike. He called such reports "fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory" on social media. Trump said he would look into the matter, but he believed Hegseth "100%" when he said he had not ordered one.

The two Republican-led congressional committees that oversee the Pentagon said they would look into the reports. On Friday, Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker and Senator Jack Reed, the committee's top Democrat, said they would be conducting "vigorous oversight."

Their counterparts on the House of Representatives Armed Services panel, Republican Chairman Mike Rogers and ranking Democrat Adam Smith, said they took the reports seriously and were taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting.

Leavitt told a White House briefing that Hegseth had spoken to some members of Congress "who might have been concerned" during the weekend.

AN ILLEGAL ACT?

Some Republicans joined Democrats in saying that, if the allegation were true, the second strike could be illegal.

"Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act," Representative Mike Turner, a former Intelligence Committee chairman, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

Republican Senator Rand Paul noted on social media that, "It is not permitted, under the laws and customs of honorable warfare, to order that no quarter be given - to apply lethal force to those who surrender or who are injured, shipwrecked, or otherwise unable to fight."

Paul co-sponsored legislation with Democrats that would have reined in Trump's campaign against Venezuela, but was blocked by members of his own party.

Democrats and a few Republicans had questioned the policy of striking what could be fishing vessels, killing all or most of those on board, rather than stopping them and questioning any passengers.

U.S. troops have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people as Trump escalates a military buildup against President Nicolas Maduro's government.

In November, Senate Republicans blocked a resolutionthat would have prevented Trump from attacking Venezuelan territory without congressional authorization. Only two of Trump's Republicans joined Democrats in backing the measure, in a show of the party's support for the military buildup in the southern Caribbean.

In October, Senate Republicans blocked a resolution that would have stopped the boat strikes.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)