President Donald Trump called his Cabinet to meet Tuesday morning as the administration insists that it was lawful for the U.S. military to launch a secondary strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in September.

Experts in the military code say this was clearly illegal, but The White House said Monday that Navy Vice Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley ordered the second strike and was "within his authority and the law."

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The military operation has come under bipartisan scrutiny from lawmakers after The Washington Post reported that that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for

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