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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declined to say whether the U.S. is preparing military strikes on Venezuela, while blasting Democrats over the ongoing shutdown that has delayed the federal government from paying U.S. troops.
The U.S. military has carried out more than a dozen strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drugs in international waters near Venezuela, killing dozens of suspected narco-terrorists, while the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group have been ordered deployed to the U.S. Southern Command region. The escalations have raised whether the U.S. may be lining up to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
A reporter asked Hegseth on Saturday at a gathering of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur if the United States was planning to strike inside Venezuela.
“Appreciate the question, but of course, we would not share any amount of operational details about what may or may not happen,” Hegseth said Saturday to reporters.
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President Donald Trump said Friday that he was not considering strikes inside Venezuela, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House both pushed back against reports citing unnamed “sources” claiming any such plan was in motion.
Hegseth was also asked if there was an ethics review for an anonymous $130 million donation that was made to pay troops while the government is shut down.
Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Donald Trump, made the donation, according to The New York Times.
“We are very grateful for generous Americans who would be willing to ensure that U.S. troops are paid,” Hegseth said. “And we’re thankful to President Trump and Vice President Vance and everyone, [director of the Office of Management and Budget] Russ Vought, and others who made sure, and our department did make sure, that no matter what’s happening, the troops are getting paid.”
Hegseth said getting troops paid is a priority of the president and slammed Democrats for not voting to reopen the government.
“Democrats are not contributing to that,” Hegseth said about the troops getting paid.
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“President Trump’s making that happen and that’s an important outcome, because the work we’re talking about right here, across our country, certainly the Department of War is front and center of that,” he said.
The pause in funding stems from the Oct. 1 shutdown after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement in time for the end of fiscal year 2025 after a short-term extension of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21, passed the House mainly along party lines earlier in September.
Mellon, a grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is a backer of Trump who gave tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting the president’s 2024 campaign. Last year, he made a $50 million contribution to a super PAC supporting Trump, marking one of the largest single donations ever disclosed, the New York Times noted.
Hegseth was also asked about reports that the United States was planning a “show of force” in response to recent Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. He said that those reports are not in line with what’s happening there now.
“[Indo-Pacific Commander] Admiral Papara and I are in close coordination at all times, ensuring we’ve got capabilities where we need them, when we need them, but those specific reports are not in keeping with what’s happening right now,” Hegseth said.
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“We’re always prepared for eventualities and what may or may not happen, to ensure we’re strongly postured and working with our partners in the Philippines,” he added. “Mostly, we’ve got lots of options and lots of capabilities in the region, but ultimately, we’re not going to reveal precisely what we may or may not do.”
The United States and the Philippines have also formed a new joint task force to strengthen cooperation and enhance military readiness in areas such as the South China Sea.
Fox News’ Lauralee Guidry, Diana Stancy, Sophia Compton and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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