A bipartisan group of senators is moving to put the Pentagon’s transparency to the test, attaching a provision to this year’s defense authorization bill that would freeze the bulk of the Defense Secretary’s travel budget until the department releases a long-awaited civilian-harm investigation.
The measure would block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from spending more than 25 percent of his travel funds — effectively locking up roughly three-quarters of the budget — until the Pentagon turns over the full, unredacted investigation into the February 28, 2026 strike on a school in Minab, Iran. The provision has been confirmed by Military.com and ABC News.
Accountability through the power of the purse
The approach is unusual but pointed: rather than issue another subpoena or send another letter that could be ignored, lawmakers are reaching for one of Congress’s oldest and most direct tools — control of the money. By capping how much of his travel budget the Defense Secretary can use, the senators are betting that the prospect of a grounded schedule will succeed where months of requests have not.
Supporters frame the move as a matter of basic oversight. The strike on the Minab school left civilians dead, and members of both parties say the public and Congress are entitled to see the unredacted findings of the department’s own investigation. Until that report is handed over, they argue, the Pentagon should not expect unrestricted freedom to operate.
A rare bipartisan front
What makes the provision notable is the breadth of its support. In a Congress sharply divided on most questions of national security and executive power, the demand for the civilian-harm report has drawn lawmakers from both parties to the same position. That unity reflects a shared principle that cuts across the usual partisan lines: when American military action results in civilian deaths, the resulting investigation should not stay sealed indefinitely.
The bipartisan character of the measure also raises the stakes for the Pentagon. A demand that comes from only one party can be cast as political; one that comes from both is harder to dismiss. By writing the requirement directly into the National Defense Authorization Act — the must-pass annual bill that sets defense policy and spending — the senators have given it real force rather than leaving it as a non-binding request.
What the report covers
At the center of the standoff is the department’s own inquiry into the February 28 strike. The senators want the version without redactions — the full account of what happened, who was harmed, and what the investigation concluded. For families and communities affected by the strike, and for a public trying to understand how the decision was made, the difference between a redacted summary and the complete file can be substantial.
Transparency advocates have long argued that civilian-harm investigations too often remain hidden behind classification and redaction, making it difficult to hold anyone accountable or to learn lessons that might prevent future deaths. This provision is an attempt to force the issue into the open.
What happens next
For now, the report remains sealed and the provision remains in play as the defense bill moves through the legislative process. If it survives, Hegseth would face a clear choice: release the unredacted investigation and restore his full travel budget, or watch roughly three-quarters of those funds stay locked.
The senators behind the measure are framing it in the simplest terms. The Pentagon, they say, can have the operational freedom it wants — but first it has to show its work. Whether that pressure produces the report, or a fight over the budget, will become clear as the defense bill advances.