Defense secretary has been insisting that an admiral gave the order for the second strike on alleged drug boat back in September

• Trump administration is ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over boat strikes, officials say

• Pete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagement

Joseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in Washington

The FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI special agents and analysts.