US Senators are seeking to block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel funds until the Pentagon releases overdue reports, including an investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran. The provision is part of the annual defense authorization bill.
The move highlights congressional efforts to increase accountability for military actions that result in civilian casualties and to ensure transparency in the Pentagon's investigations into such incidents.
Senators are leveraging the annual defense authorization bill to compel the Pentagon to release overdue reports on civilian harm investigations, including a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran. The provision, tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act, aims to block a significant portion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel funds until these reports are submitted.
The strike on the Minab school in Iran on February 28, 2026, occurred on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war and killed more than 165 people, many of them children. Preliminary findings suggest outdated intelligence led to the U.S. carrying out the strike, which would mark one of the highest civilian casualty events by American forces in two decades.
In addition to the Iran school strike investigation, lawmakers are also demanding unedited video footage of U.S. strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats near Venezuela, which have resulted in at least 208 deaths. They are also seeking three other investigations into a series of strikes in Yemen in April 2025, including one on a port that reportedly killed 70 people and wounded 170, and another on a house that killed four and wounded 16.
Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated that the defense package "forces the Secretary to be more accountable to Congress and will prevent many errors of the past from being repeated in the future." The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced the measure, which is now headed for a full Senate vote. The Pentagon has not yet responded to a request for comment.