Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., urged caution Sunday amid allegations that War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. forces to "kill everybody" aboard a suspected drug-smuggling boat during a Sept. 2 interdiction operation.
Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general and a moderate Republican, told ABC's "This Week" that while the report is troubling, Congress must establish the facts before drawing conclusions.
"It is a big concern," Bacon said. "Now, Secretary Hegseth denies it. We should get to the truth."
He added, "So let's get the facts first. Secretary Hegseth deserves his day to present his side of the story."
The Washington Post reported Friday that after an initial strike — previously described by the administration as killing 11 "narco-terrorists" — two survivors were seen clinging to debris. According to the outlet, a second strike was launched after a commander allegedly sought to comply with Hegseth's reported order to "kill everybody."
Bacon questioned the plausibility of the allegation.
"I don't think he would be foolish enough to say, 'Kill everybody, kill the survivors,' because that's a clear violation of the law of war," he said. "I'm very suspicious he would've done something like that because it goes against common sense."
Hegseth on Friday fired back, denouncing the story as "fake news" and insisting that the U.S. campaign against drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean is fully lawful.
"All actions are in compliance with the law of armed conflict," he wrote, adding that the operations were approved by military and civilian lawyers "up and down the chain of command."
Despite skepticism from some Republicans, lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that the allegations warrant formal review.
Senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., announced a bipartisan inquiry late Friday.
House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., issued a similar statement Saturday, pledging "rigorous oversight" of U.S. military activity in the region.
Bacon stressed that if the allegations are true, they would amount to a grave breach of wartime rules.
"If it was as the article said, that is a violation of the law of war," he said. "When people want to surrender, you don't kill them. Two people on a raft trying to survive — it's hard to believe they pose an imminent threat."
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, echoed the need for facts, noting that Congress has received no information confirming a follow-up strike on survivors. Still, he called the allegation "very serious" and said lawmakers are committed to uncovering what happened.
"So let's get the facts, and if the facts go to where The Washington Post article takes it, well then, we'll have to go from there," Bacon said.
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