Senators are seeking to block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funds until the Pentagon submits several overdue reports to lawmakers, including its investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war.

Investigations and Reports

According to an annual defense authorization bill, filed this week, much of the travel funds for the defense secretary’s office may not be spent until Hegseth submits ‘unredacted civilian harm investigations,’ including for the Feb. 28, 2026, strike on the Minab school. Officials have preliminarily said the U.S. was responsible for the strike, which was blamed on outdated intelligence.

Congress, which conducts oversight of the Pentagon, has not yet received the Defense Department’s report on the investigation. It is believed to have been completed last month. Senators from both parties tucked the new provisions blocking Hegseth’s travel funds into the National Defense Authorization Act to force release of the investigation.

The Senate bill text said not more than 25% of the defense secretary’s travel funds may be spent until he submits the investigations, ‘including all relevant supporting documents,’ for several incidents of civilian harm.

Additional Investigations

Senators also are seeking to withhold Hegseth’s travel funds until the Pentagon releases ‘unedited video’ of the U.S. strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats near Venezuela. The Pentagon has conducted a monthslong campaign of strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 211 people so far.

Additionally, lawmakers are seeking three other investigations into a series of strikes in Yemen in April 2025. They were conducted during the U.S. military’s campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who were attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.