The president last week said he would have "no problem" with releasing the video. However, Hegseth over the weekend suggested the Pentagon was taking a more cautious approach.
"[W]hatever we were to decide to release, we would have to be very responsible about, so we're reviewing that right now," he said Saturday during an appearance at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Asked about the discrepancy at the White House on Monday, Trump denied his previous comments and attacked ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, who was asking about the video release.
"I didn't say that. You said that, I didn't say that," Trump said "Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me."
Scott asked if he would order Hegseth to release the video.
"Whatever he decides is OK with me," Trump repeated.
Last week, Trump told reporters of the video: "Whatever they have, we'd certainly release, no problem."
Members of Congress viewed a video of the strike last week. Democrats who watched it said they were horrified, arguing the two survivors of a first strike were clearly distressed and defenseless.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) echoed the administration's defense: the survivors were legitimate military targets because they could have called for help, recovered drugs from the boat wreckage and continued their alleged trafficking.
Some members of Congress are also demanding that the administration provide the full video of the strikes — there were four in all — and the full orders from Hegseth regarding the operation.
Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, who ordered the strikes, in a congressional briefing last week denied that Hegseth issued an order to "kill everybody," as the Washington Post reported.
Still, lawmakers quietly added a provision to this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that limits Hegseth's travel budget until the videos and orders are handed over.
The compromise NDAA was released on Sunday and is scheduled for a markup in the House Rules Committee tomorrow.
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