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.

The US defense secretary appeared to acknowledge incidental plans also exist for Panama, but avoided giving direct confirmation.