• Strikes under scrutiny: Democrats are ramping up their criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. As new revelations about a September “double-tap” attack roil Washington, Hegseth’s level of support among GOP lawmakers has also come into question.
• Kennedy Center Honors: President Donald Trump will play host tonight at the annual event honoring artists in Washington, marking the latest example of him reshaping the prominent US cultural institution in his image.
• Ukraine diplomacy: Talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over a proposed peace deal with Russia have ended in Miami with few new developments and lingering questions. It remains unclear whether Moscow is open to any potential peace deal.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran and member of the Armed Services Committee, criticized Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after he compared the Trump administration’s strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Well, there was actually a vote by Congress to put us at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was no such vote, there was no such debate, here in this situation,” Duckworth told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” today.
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