Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.

Pete Hegseth faced intense scrutiny at a Senate hearing over Signalgate chat row, Greenland invasion plans, his policies on women in uniform and transgender troops. The US Defense Secretary faced intense backlash regarding potential invasion plans for Greenland and Panama.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not deny that the Pentagon has plans for a possible military invasion of Greenland and Panama when pressed by lawmakers during a congressional hearing on Thursday. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Defense and the foreign affairs ministries for both Greenland and Panama via email for comments.