Washington DC - Congress is reportedly withholding a portion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel funds in an attempt to pressure him to release videos of the "double tap" boat strike.

According to Politico, lawmakers who contributed to the final draft of their annual defense policy bill quietly included the stipulation that a quarter of Hegseth's travel budget will be withheld until the "unedited video" of the US military's controversial strikes is turned over to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

The bill was submitted on Sunday and is now expected to be approved by the House later this week, and then by the Senate.

The move comes as Hegseth and President Donald Trump's administration continue to face backlash over a series of recent missile strikes targeting boats with alleged drug smugglers, mainly in the Caribbean.

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In one particular strike on September 2, a US admiral under Hegseth's authority reportedly ordered a "double-tap" to kill survivors – reports of which have triggered accusations of a possible war crime.

Trump has said publicly that he would have "no problem" releasing the videos, but when asked during a defense forum on Saturday, Hegseth refused to do the same, repeatedly stating his department is "reviewing" the process.