Admiral ousted by Hegseth talks privately to lawmakers
Adm. Alvin Holsey, who was pushed out of his post as the top U.S. military commander overseeing operations in Latin America, spoke privately with several lawmakers on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the meeting -- an indication that Congress is quietly pursuing a bipartisan inquiry into the Sept. 2 boat strike in the Caribbean Sea.
Holsey was scheduled to speak remotely with Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee, respectively, and Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrats on the panels.
The classified calls were the first time lawmakers got a chance to hear from Holsey since revelations last month that the military deliberately killed two people who had survived an initial strike against their boat. The discussions come as several Republicans are calling for release of the full hourslong video of the strike, which has only been provided to lawmakers in a classified setting.
Several Republicans are calling for the public release of video of the Sept. 2 strikes.
"We’ve got to release the video," Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said, later adding "I just think we have to be as transparent as possible."
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said it would be "helpful for the public to see it" to ease concerns about varying accounts of what the video shows.
ABC News previously reported that Holsey had raised concerns with Hegseth about the ongoing military campaign in Latin America, although it’s not clear what those concerns were and whether he took issue with the legality of the boat strikes.
A Pentagon official confirmed to ABC News that the four-star admiral was "asked to retire on good terms." His last day in uniform is Friday after serving 37 years in the military.
Also on Tuesday, House and Senate leaders known as the "Gang of Eight" are hearing separately from President Donald Trump's national security team: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Gang of Eight briefing follows the completion of the administration’s national security strategy, a planning document that spells out America’s long-term vision for protecting the nation. But lawmakers also were expected to raise questions about the legality of military strikes in the Caribbean.
On Capitol Hill, the four senior Trump administration officials ignored questions from reporters about whether they would release the full video of the Sept. 2 boat strike.
The Gang of Eight refers to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, along with House and Senate minority and majority leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
