Warren, Kelly, Gillibrand, Blumenthal Investigate Hegseth’s Failure to Protect Troops in Middle East After Fatal Attack
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Home Newsroom Press Releases April 27, 2026 Warren, Kelly, Gillibrand, Blumenthal Investigate Hegseth’s Failure to Protect Troops in Middle East After Fatal Attack Troops injured in strike on Kuwait post reportedly received no warning to evacuate, denied requests for additional protections Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) launched a new investigation into reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during Operation Epic Fury, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured twenty in Kuwait. “Secretary Hegseth sent our troops to fight in Iran, refused to take basic steps to protect them, and then tried to cover up his failures when service members died. Hegseth’s leadership has been one betrayal after another — he must be held accountable,” said Senator Warren . On March 1, days into President Trump’s war on Iran, an Iranian drone hit a U.S. military post in Kuwait, killing six American service members and injuring at least 20. The attack reportedly came with “no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker.” After the attack, service members reported triaging their injuries themselves and having to “commandeer() civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to two local Kuwaiti hospitals.” Secretary Hegseth described the attack as a “powerful” Iranian drone hit that was able to get through “fortified” U.S. defenses. But survivors of the attack described his account as a “falsehood,” saying that the unit “was unprepared to provide any defense for itself” despite making requests “for more capabilities to defeat incoming drones.” Accounts from survivors and other officials indicate that the risks to service members in the region were known, but leadership at the Pentagon failed to take steps to prevent harm that could come from Iran’s retaliation. One service member recounted seeing intelligence revealing that “the post [they were relocated to] was on a list of potential Iranian targets.” Three other officials raised concerns that troop positions “concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn’t defendable.” Survivors of the Kuwait attack have made clear that basic steps were not taken to keep U.S. troops safe, despite previous requests for more defenses against drones. In another case, the Pentagon failed to warn American ships of imminent attacks from Iran, a break from precedent that left the ships no way to evacuate service members and left them stranded for a month. “We are concerned that this is part of a larger pattern in which this administration has
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