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.

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.

I sure as hell hope' the Pentagon does not have plans to invade Greenland, Rep. Mike Turner said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not deny it.