Republican Senator Rand Paul offered some scathing criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to push responsibility for the September 2 boat bombings away from himself and President Trump and onto Admiral Frank Bradley.

“In this sense, it looks to me like they’re trying to pin the blame on somebody else and not them,” Paul told reporters Tuesday evening. “There’s a very distinct statement [that] was said on Sunday—Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this and it did not happen. It was fake news, it didn’t happen. And then the next day from the podium at the White House, they’re saying it did happen.

“So either he was lying to us on Sunday, or he’s incompetent and didn’t know it had happened,” he continued. “Do we think there’s any chance that on Sunday the secretary of the defense did not know there’d been a second strike?”

Paul: Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this and it did not happen. And then the next day, from the podium at the white house, they're saying it did happen. So either he was lying to us on Sunday or he's incompetent pic.twitter.com/YnVZvKE5Kq

The growing Republican criticism comes as Hegseth and the Trump administration zero in on their version of events for whether the boat bombing actually happened (it did), and who in particular gave the order for a second strike to kill the two survivors seen clinging to the wreckage after the first bombing. At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Hegseth claimed that he didn’t know there were survivors after the first strike, adding that the “fog of war” would have made it difficult to determine if anyone had survived. He passed responsibility for the decision entirely on to Bradley.

The administration’s explanation for committing what very well may be a war crime has been so botched and sloppy that it made Paul remember he’s a libertarian. And on his question of Hegseth’s incompetence or stupidity, the answer seems to be both.

Even though a Republican won in Tuesday’s special election in Tennessee, the GOP is worried that their margin of victory was way too close.

Mark Van Epps won Tennessee’s 7th district congressional seat by about nine percentage points over Democrat Aftyn Behn, a big shift from Donald Trump’s 22-point victory in the 2024 presidential election. That swing could mean major losses for the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.

As one House Republican told Politico, “Tonight is a sign that 2026 is going to be a bitch of an election cycle.”

“Republicans can survive if we play team and the Trump administration officials play smart. Neither is certain,” the anonymous representative said.

Behn made considerable ground in a deep-red district that hasn’t had a Democratic representative in over 40 years, and millions of dollars were spent for Republicans to hold onto what is normally a safe seat. This was not lost on national Republicans, who remember Democrats’ massive victories last month in New Jersey and Virginia.

“I’m glad we won. But the GOP should not ignore the Virginia, New Jersey, and Tennessee elections,” said Representative Don Bacon, a Republican representing a swing district in Nebraska who is retiring next year. “We must reach swing voters. America wants some normalcy.”

The narrow victory came as House Speaker Mike Johnson paid a visit to the state and President Trump addressed a rally via speakerphone. Even then, “it was too close,” a Republican House leadership aide told Politico.

“It was dangerous. We could have lost this district because the people who showed up, many of them are the ones that are motivated by how much they dislike President Trump,” agreed Senator Ted Cruz on Fox News Tuesday night.

“In a year, it’s going to be a turnout election, and the left will show up. Hate is a powerful motivator.”

Ted Cruz w/ a turnout warning for GOP after #TN07 special election:

"It was dangerous. We could have lost this district b/c the people who showed up, many of them are motivated by how much they dislike President Trump...the left will show up. Hate is a powerful motivator." pic.twitter.com/QhHxXHx5f8

Republican Matt Van Epps narrowly beat Democrat Aftyn Behn in a special election Tuesday night to represent Tennessee 7th congressional district.

Van Epps was leading Behn 53.5 percent to 45.5 percent, with 75 percent of votes counted, when NBC News declared Van Epps’s victory.

The district has not had a Democratic representative since 1983, but Van Epps’s win came after polls showed the two neck-and-neck heading into Tuesday. Democrats had hoped to continue their strong electoral fortunes from last month, when they flipped some of the most Republican districts across the country and won the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia.

Behn outperformed Kamala Harris’s 2024 margin in the district, nearly closing the 20-point gap between her and Donald Trump. But the Trump-endorsed Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services and Army helicopter pilot, ultimately defeated Behn, a Tennessee state representative and former community organizer.

The latest poll from last week showed Van Epps narrowly leading Behn 48 percent to 46 percent, with 2 percent voting elsewhere and 5 percent undecided. Fearful conservatives dropped millions on the race, with right-wing super PACs alone spending $3.3 million against Behn as of last week, a huge expenditure for a normally safe seat in an off year.

The tightness of the race caused alarm among Republicans nationally, with House Speaker Mike Johnson

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