Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Congress airs out its Defense Department frustrations , Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum downplays reports about potential U.S. military action , and the Gaza peace plan inches forward.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, featuring some valuable reporting assists from our colleagues Sam Skove and Rachel Oswald from the halls of Congress.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, featuring some valuable reporting assists from our colleagues Sam Skove and Rachel Oswald from the halls of Congress.

Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Congress airs out its Defense Department frustrations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum downplays reports about potential U.S. military action, and the Gaza peace plan inches forward.

‘Doing What It Pleases’

A growing congressional backlash against U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s massive reshaping of the Pentagon’s communication strategy came to a head this week.

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee ripped into Pentagon policy planning staff in two confirmation hearings on Tuesday and Thursday, accusing the policy office of failing to communicate with Congress and U.S. foreign allies about major defense moves.

“We talked to the Japanese, we talked to the Taiwanese, the Koreans, and the Baltic nations,” said Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the committee, during a confirmation hearing for Pentagon policy official Alex Velez-Green. “In many of these conversations, we hear that the Pentagon policy office seems to be doing what it pleases without coordinating, even inside the U.S.