Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been at the center of more political scandals in his short tenure at the Pentagon than most politicians see in their entire lifetimes. But as scrutiny over lethal military strikes in the Caribbean continues to grow, so too does a sense of skepticism over Hegseth’s role in the Trump administration. With an invasion of Venezuela a looming possibility in the months ahead, there could be a Pentagon shakeup in Hegseth’s future as well.

Military and congressional figures are “increasingly concerned” that the White House “intends to scapegoat” Admiral Frank Bradley for following Hegseth’s “kill everybody” directive by ordering a second strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat, said The Washington Post. “This is ‘protect Pete’ bullshit,” said one military official to the outlet. 

But despite growing bipartisan interest on Capitol Hill to investigate Hegseth’s liability in any potential war crimes, GOP lawmakers will “never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). The president will simply “order them not to do it.” 

Jeffries’ “calculus is right,” said journalist Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo news outlet. Instead, it’s “incumbent upon lawmakers to build up pressure to subpoena every last official” and “obtain every last communication” surrounding the strike and the White House’s subsequent narratives. To that end, Jeffries is approaching the nascent congressional probes as the “alternative to impeachment,” said Axios. “What’s on the table is a meaningful investigation,” said Jeffries, which “we can hope would be bipartisan.”

Lawmakers in Washington are bracing for a fight over whether states and local governments can regulate artificial intelligence use in their communities, putting the annual must-pass Defense Authorization Bill in limbo for one of the “heaviest legislative lifts in any congressional year,” said The Hill. In Congress, White House allies are “pushing language to block states from establishing their own artificial intelligence regulations,” said Semafor. However, “some Republicans don’t like it, and most Democrats oppose it too.”

Congressional efforts to block state-level AI regulation have “ramped up in recent weeks,” said TechCrunch. Negotiations have focused on “narrowing the scope” of any effort to preempt local regulation to “potentially preserve state authority” for “kids’ safety and transparency.” Opponents of federal limits on state regulation argue the country needs a “federal standard in place” for AI regulation, but absent that, “blocking states will leave consumers exposed to harm and tech companies free to operate without oversight.”

The Trump White House’s effort to limit local AI regulation is “falling short on Capitol Hill,” said Axios. The language of a bill being circulated by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointedly does not include “language to protect kids online, carveouts for intellectual property laws,” and other negotiated topics, making it “highly unlikely to work.” Ultimately, though, Congress “won’t let the AI battle sink the defense bill,” said Semafor. If local regulatory limits are cut from the defense bill, Trump may “take executive action” instead.

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