After reports of two major strikes against targets inside Yemen, officials at U.S. Central Command are refusing to discuss whether either action resulted in multiple civilian casualties or if either strike was militarily justified.

The silence on this topic is a sharp contrast from the official public presence of the combatant command. On social media, U.S. Central Command's presence has been a near constant stream of U.S. fighter jets and other military equipment and boasts about "continuous 24/7 operations" and claims that Yemen's Houthi rebels are terrorists since the bombing campaign began over a month ago.

Press reports^[1] citing Houthi sources^[2] have said^[3] U.S. strikes on the Yemeni port of Ras Isa earlier this month killed more than 70 people and wounded around twice as many, while another strike this week hit a migrant detention center, killing almost 70 African migrants. Those strikes are among hundreds of others as the military campaign has continued against the Houthis, who have targeted international shipping in the region, for weeks.

Read Next: Defense Department to Review List of Medical Conditions that Disqualify Potential Recruits from Serving^[4]

The reports of casualties and lack of information from the Pentagon caused some senators on Capitol Hill to allege the Trump administration has a "serious disregard for civilian life."

In a statement Sunday^[5], the command, which began the open-ended bombing campaign on March 15, went even further and declared that it "will not reveal specifics about what we've done or what we will do."

Military.com reached out to officials at U.S. Central Command about the reports and Houthi claims after both strikes.

After the Ras Isa fuel port strikes, Military.com asked officials whether they disputed the Houthi death figures or if they had any responses to the allegations that striking a civilian port constituted a war crime.

An unnamed official, replying from a general email account at U.S. Central Command, simply replied that they "have nothing to provide outside of the statement that was released on 17 April^[6]."

After the strike this past weekend on the migrant detention center, Military.com again asked officials on Monday whether they disputed the Houthi claim that nearly 70 civilians were killed or if they were aware of what they were targeting at the site.

Another unnamed official replied and said Central Command was "aware of the claims of civilian casualties related to the U.S. strikes" and that they were "currently conducting our battle-damage assessment and inquiry into those claims."

The refusal to engage even on basic topics stemming from their military operations is a relatively new development.

Under the Biden administration, the command, which is headed up by Army^[7] Gen. Erik Kurilla, would regularly release updates on social media^[8] for the more than 100 strikes it conducted in Yemen since October 2023.

While they still insisted on withholding details such as the types of ordnance used, the posts included lists of targets hit by specific strikes and by what platforms, when U.S. warships were targeted and what Houthi assets were destroyed.

Those updates, the last of which was posted on Dec. 31, 2024^[9], would also note whether any U.S. personnel were injured.

Then came Operation Rough Rider -- a massive, around-the-clock and open-ended campaign of strikes against Houthi targets that began on March 15, ostensibly with the aim of restoring navigation to the Red Sea and punishing the Houthis for their earlier missile launches against Navy^[10] and merchant ships.

According to a statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued Tuesday, more than 1,000 targets have been hit to date -- around 200 of which appear to have happened in the last several days.

In that time, Central Command has effectively refused to offer any details on what those strikes have been accomplishing, telling Military.com two weeks ago that^[11] "the U.S. has hit targets in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen, destroying command and control facilities, weapons manufacturing facilities, and advanced weapons storage locations," and it had "confirmed the death of several Houthi leader [sic]."

What little data officials at Central Command have released is inconsistent with its own statements.

Last week, Dave Eastburn, a spokesman for Central Command, told CNN^[12] that its efforts meant that "Houthi ballistic missile launches have dropped by 87% while attacks from their one-way drones have decreased by 65% since the beginning of these operations."

However, days later, in its Sunday statement, the command said ballistic missile launches have dropped by 69% and attacks from one way attack drones have decreased by 55% -- numbers far different than the earlier statement and what would represent an increase in Houthi activity if correct.

Meanwhile, Parnell has also failed to hold regular briefings for reporters despite making claims shortly after being hired^[13] that he would do so routinely and that, under him, the Defense Department would "be the most transparent DoD in American history for the warfighters and the American people."

Such Pentagon briefings have always been a crucial way for reporters and the public to learn about overseas military operations.

CBS reported Monday^[14] that while Parnell has held just a single press conference since taking office, the White House has held 18 and the State Department 13.

The lack of information -- specifically on civilian casualties -- has begun to draw attention from Congress.

Last week, citing the reports on civilian casualties in the Ras Isa fuel port strikes, three Senate Democrats sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers on what steps the Pentagon is taking to reduce civilian harm. The trio also pressed Hegseth on whether the Pentagon has assessed the number of civilian casualties since the Yemen strikes began in March.

"President Trump has called himself a 'peacemaker,' but that claim rings hollow when U.S. military operations kill scores of civilians," Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote in the letter.

"The reported high civilian casualty numbers from U.S. strikes in Yemen demonstrate a serious disregard for civilian life, and call into question this administration's ability to conduct military operations in accordance with U.S. best practices for civilian harm mitigation and international law," they wrote.

At the outset of the campaign, officials at the Pentagon said one of the key differences between the Biden and Trump approach to the Houthis was the delegation of some authorities from the president through Secretary Hegseth down to the operational commander -- Kurilla.

While that meant Kurilla has been able to make more strikes with less oversight, two defense officials told Military.com^[15] that it has also meant less reluctance to hold off striking targets based on the casualties that may result.

Related: Military Refuses to Provide Details About Ongoing Bombing Campaign in Yemen^[16]

Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday rejected Democratic efforts to discipline or otherwise hold Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accountable for recent turmoil in the Pentagon, including his use of a commercial messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations.

While debating a $150 billion Pentagon spending bill^[1] Tuesday, Democrats offered several amendments to address the drama surrounding Hegseth, including ones that would have prevented any of the funding from being used until Hegseth is gone or limited the amount of funding available until he reviews classification policies.

With Republicans holding a majority in the committee, the amendments were doomed from the start, making them mostly a political messaging exercise. Still, Democrats took the opportunity to pin down House Republicans on the record about Hegseth's job performance.

Read Next: Defense Department to Review List of Medical Conditions that Disqualify Potential Recruits from Serving^[2]

Hegseth has been engulfed in controversy for weeks after it was revealed that he disclosed operational details^[3] of then-upcoming U.S. military strikes in Yemen in a chat with other Trump administration officials on Signal, an encrypted but unclassified messaging app.

Just as the Signal controversy appeared to be dying down, reports of chaos within the Pentagon began emerging after Hegseth fired several close aides whom he accused of leaking information to the press. The fired aides have denied leaking^[4], and some have since gone on the record^[5] to describe the Pentagon under Hegseth's leadership as shambolic.

Amid the fallout from the firings, several news reports revealed Hegseth also disclosed the Yemen strike details in a second Signal chat^[6] that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

The mounting controversies have led to sharp rebukes and calls for Hegseth to be fired or resign from Democrats. Some Republicans who are closely aligned with President Donald Trump have rallied to Hegseth's defense, while some others who are influential voices on military issues have stayed silent. Just one Republican, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, has said he thinks Hegseth should be fired.

Trump, for his part, has stuck by Hegseth, telling The Atlantic magazine recently^[7] that he thinks Hegseth will "get it together."

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress have been working to advance Trump's agenda with a sweeping package of legislation. The $150 billion Pentagon spending bill debated by the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday is part of that legislative effort.

Democrats previously indicated they would oppose the Pentagon funding, because they oppose other elements of the legislation, such as tax cuts, even though they support some of the proposed military spending, such as on quality-of-life issues.

On Tuesday, Democrats added a new argument against the bill -- that the Pentagon cannot be trusted with an extra $150 billion while Hegseth and Trump are in charge.

"They have not even begun to prove that there is a chance in hell that they will spend this money intelligently, efficiently and effectively," Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee, said in his opening remarks Tuesday. "Secretary Hegseth has proven himself to be completely incapable of doing the job of secretary of defense."

Smith offered an amendment that would have fenced off 75% of the funding in the bill until Hegseth reviewed classified policies and certified to Congress that there is a "viable mechanism" to enforce prohibitions on sharing classified information on unclassified systems.

A similar amendment offered by Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, would have fenced off 75% of funding until the Pentagon implemented a new training program for senior officials on handling classified information.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., offered a separate amendment that would have prevented the entire bill from taking effect until "Peter Hegseth is not serving in the position of Secretary of Defense," according to the amendment text.

Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., also took a page out of the GOP playbook and offered an amendment that would have cut Hegseth's salary to $1. Republicans previously tried to do the same thing to several Biden administration officials, including then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

All four amendments failed on largely party-line votes, though a few Democrats opposed a couple of them. Democratic Reps. Eugene Vindman of Virginia, Don Davis of North Carolina and George Whitesides of California opposed cutting Hegseth's salary, while Davis and Rep. Jared Golden of Maine opposed Houlahan's amendment to block the entire bill until Hegseth is gone.

The bill overall was approved by the committee in a 35-21 vote, with Vindman, Whitesides, Golden, Davis and Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico joining Republicans in support of the measure.

The only Republican to speak at all for the entire debate was committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala. During debate on Smith's amendment, Rogers knocked the idea of holding back on funding for an "impossible certification," even as he said he understands Smith's concern about operational security.

"It would have been nice if my colleagues had felt so strongly about holding the secretary of defense accountable in the last administration," Rogers added during debate on Houlahan's amendment, noting the 13 U.S. troops killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal. "This amendment is little more than partisan posturing."

Tuesday's committee debate was one of the few opportunities Democrats had to force House Republicans into an on-the-record position on Hegseth.

House Democrats have also sought to use another tool called a resolution of inquiry to force votes related to the Hegseth drama, but House Republican leadership restricted their ability to do so.

Normally, resolutions of inquiry are considered privileged, meaning Democrats could have forced votes on them on the House floor. But Republicans on Tuesday used a procedural maneuver to essentially prevent the resolutions from being taken up this year.

"We're using the rules of the House to prevent political hijinks and political stunts," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday in defending the procedural maneuver. "We're preventing this nonsensical waste of our time."

Related: Republicans Unveil Pentagon Portion of Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' with Extra Money for Barracks^[8]