Humanitarian Groups Demand Congressional Investigation Into Pete Hegseth’s Role in Yemen Civilian Deaths

Humanitarian organizations are demanding congressional investigations into the Yemen war following the failure of impeachment proceedings against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

Twelve advocacy groups are calling for oversight regarding his role in the “unauthorized war in Yemen,” specifically targeting the human toll of Operation Rough Rider.

The push for accountability comes as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over war powers abuses. While the Pentagon successfully defended Hegseth against impeachment, a coalition of groups including Amnesty International USA, Airwars, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict is now targeting one of the eight shelved charges related to the conflict.

“We urge members of Congress to conduct robust oversight into Operation Rough Rider and the resulting human toll,” the group said in a new letter shared exclusively with The Intercept.

The organizations are demanding transparency regarding how and why civilian harm incidents occurred during the 52-day period between March and May 2025. They also want to know the status of active Department of Defense investigations and what those cases have taught officials.

Civilian casualties during Operation Rough Rider

The scale of harm during the short-lived operation has become a central point of contention. The Pentagon’s own annual report to Congress acknowledged nearly 400 civilian casualties stemming from just three specific strikes in Yemen.

These incidents included a strike in Sanaa on April 6, an attack on the Ras Isa Port on April 17, and a strike on a migrant detention center in Saada on April 28. However, the Yemen Data Project reported that the actual toll was likely much higher, estimating at least 238 civilians killed and 467 injured.

Survivors of the Saada strike continue to face long-term physical and economic devastation. One 22-year-old Ethiopian man, who sustained a serious arm injury during the U.S. attack, told Amnesty International that he remains unable to work and must rely on others for survival.

“If I don’t take a painkiller, I feel hopeless and wish to die,” said a 22-year-old Ethiopian man who sustained a serious arm injury in the U.S. attack. “I think about how at such a young age I can’t even support myself and still rely on help from others. The metal rod inside me is very painful and uncomfortable. It drives you insane.”

Staffing cuts to civilian protection programs

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence saw its staff drop from 40 personnel in January 2025 to just nine by the end of that year.

At Central Command (CENTCOM), the 10-person civilian harm mitigation team has been reduced to a single individual. This reduction has created a massive backlog of investigations, with 15 additional attacks still under assessment more than a year after Operation Rough Rider ended.

“How will they get through hundreds of cases for Iran if their one civilian harm person still hasn’t finished Yemen?” a U.S. official asked in August, according to The Intercept.

This lack of resources has implications for other active conflict zones. Annie Shiel, the U.S. director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict, told The Intercept that a proper reckoning regarding Yemen did not happen, noting connections between civilian casualties in Yemen and those in Iran.

“There is a through-line here from Yemen,” Shiel said. “We’ll never know if the devastation of Minab would have been prevented through a fully staffed civilian protection program and a more robust inquiry into what happened in Yemen, but it’s clear that important reckoning didn’t happen.”

Congressional oversight priorities

The new Democratic leaders in Congress will have to deal with a difficult situation regarding military accountability. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the incoming chair of the House Armed Services Committee, announced that his committee’s priority will be oversight of the Department of Defense and the Trump Administration.

While Smith specifically identified the illegal war against Iran and unauthorized strikes in Latin America as top priorities, his office did not confirm if Yemen would be included in that list. Similarly, the office of Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who is slated to lead the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding oversight of Operation Rough Rider.

“Rather than dismissing amends out of hand, the Department should undertake a good-faith effort to understand families’ needs and preferences for responses,” the humanitarian groups wrote in their letter.