Warren, Ryan, Bicameral Lawmakers Urge Armed Services Committee Chairmen to Hold Public Hearings on Fatal Port Shuaiba Attack Following Whistleblower Reports

New details reveal DoD was unprepared and failed to support service members and their families in the aftermath of Iranian strike “It is critical that Congress gets answers on the failures that led to the attacks, and on the subsequent mistreatment of survivors and families of those killed” “As the administration continues to ask Congress for more resources for this war, we can no longer afford to wait for DoD to deign when they are going to answer these questions.” Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, and Representative Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, led 19 members of Congress in a letter to Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Representative Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Committee on Armed Services, urging them to hold public hearings on the Iranian attack of a U.S. military base in Kuwait that killed six service members and injured more than 30 others. “[A]llegations reported by whistleblowers to Senator Warren’s and Representative Ryan’s offices, have raised even more concerns about the lack of appropriate medical care for service members injured in the strike, the treatment of survivors and their families, and the DoD [Department of Defense] investigation of this attack,” wrote the lawmakers . In April, Senator Warren and Representative Ryan led investigations into reports that Secretary Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during President Trump’s war in Iran, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured dozens in Kuwait. Following reports revealing that service members were warned of safety issues ahead of the strike, the lawmakers pressed for answers as to why the Trump administration reportedly failed to adequately prepare for attacks on troops in the Middle East. The lawmakers then expanded the investigation in July following additional new reports that DoD failed to provide adequate medical care to service members injured in the strike. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers asked for clarity on the reports and DoD’s investigation into the Port Shuaiba strike. DoD has not responded to the lawmakers’ questions and has stonewalled oversight by failing to provide Congress with the results of the Army’s investigations into the Port Shuaiba strike despite repeated requests. These new reports indicate that: “There was absolutely no evacuation plan” in the case of an attack on Port Shuaiba. Injured survivors of the March 1st strike faced delays in receiving appropriate care in the immediate aftermath of the strike. Since then, multiple soldiers injured in the strike have waited months for appointments, with at least one still unable to secure an appointment months later. Families of the fallen were misled about meetings with DoD officials—they were told they had been invited to a ceremony instead of a briefing on the deaths of their loved ones. Some purple hearts were mailed to survivors and families of the fallen, instead of being presented in a ceremony in accordance with Secretary Hegseth’s policy memorandum. The service member originally appointed to conduct the investigation into the strike was a public affairs officer under the chain of command of one of the commanders present during the strike. Additionally, the more senior officer who later took over the investigation was reportedly still a lower rank than the commanders of the 103rd Sustainment Command and the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, who were both present during the strike. The lawmakers urged the chairmen to hold public hearings on the Port Shuaiba attack to answer the questions already posed by Congress and address the additional allegations regarding the treatment of military families, including whether DoD followed appropriate protocols in briefing the families, informing them of the injuries of their loved ones, and awarding medals. “It is unacceptable that President Trump has dragged the U.S. into a reckless war while failing to properly protect our service members from Iranian attacks and to give them the care they need,” wrote the lawmakers. “These are serious allegations and our service members, their families, and the American people deserve answers,” concluded the lawmakers. The full list of signers includes Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.); and Representatives Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Derek Tran (D-Calif.), and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.). Senator Warren has fought to hold the Trump administration accountable for waging an illegal war in Iran and endangering the lives of service members and Americans: On September 15, 2026, in response to an inquiry led by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, along with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released new data on the cost of President Trump’s war in Iran. On July 30, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, led 11 members of Congress in opening an investigation into reports that the DoD failed to provide adequate medical care to service members injured in a March drone strike on a U.S. military post at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. On May 29, 2026, Senator Warren’s oversight efforts uncovered that the State Department did not task the U.S. Transportation Command to assist with the evacuation of non-government Americans, despite tens of thousands of Americans being trapped in the region and the Trump administration’s lack of evacuation plans at the start of the war. On April 28, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Personnel Subcommittee, questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump’s illegal war with Iran. On April 27, 2026, 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 dozens in Kuwait. On April 22, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pushed General Reed, Commander of U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), for clarity on whether the Trump administration was using all the tools at its disposal, including TRANSCOM, to evacuate Americans in the Middle East out of harm’s way following President Trump launching an illegal war against Iran. On April 20, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Van Hollen (D-Md.) led nine senators in opening a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran. On April 7, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released a new video condemning President Trump’s threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran and called for Majority Leader Thune to bring the Senate back into session immediately to vote to stop Trump’s war. On March 20, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, wrote to Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and other members of the Trump administration, raising concerns about the financial costs for American families from President Trump’s illegal and reckless war with Iran. On March 20, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the Trump administration’s sidelining of the military’s Judge Advocate General Corps, who are responsible for providing independent legal advice to commanders. Senator Warren pressed the commanders of United States Northern Command and United States Southern Command about the impact the sidelining of JAGs has on civilian harm as the war against Iran continues. On March 12, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pressed General Randall Reed, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), on the Trump administration’s failures in evacuating Americans from the Middle East at the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran. On March 11, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kaine (D-Va.), Schatz (D-Hawaii), Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 41 colleagues pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a full investigation into the airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran, and other civilian casualties in the Trump administration’s war on Iran. On March 12, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned the Director of the Congressional Budget Office on the financial implications of the Iran war and highlighted that the enormous financial cost could instead be used to lower the cost of health care. On March 5, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) led the entire Massachusetts delegation in pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the Trump administration’s “complete failure” to evacuate U.S. citizens — including Massachusetts residents — from the Middle East following the administration’s starting a reckless war in Iran. On March 3, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to call on Congress to end President Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran and demand accountability. ###