Senate Democrats said Wednesday they plan to hold a vote on President Donald Trump's extrajudicial military strikes against foreign vessels he says are smuggling drugs.
Senators Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine have announced their intention to seek a vote on the Trump administration's decision to launch military strikes on ships in the Caribbean. The government presented no evidence that the ships were linked to drug cartels or that those on board were drug smugglers. Without conducting searches, arrests, or trials, the military executed them without trial.
“If a president can unilaterally designate people or groups and kill them, there are no meaningful limits on his use of force,” Schiff wrote in his report. publish on X.
Last month the duo presented privileged permission stop the strikes under the War Powers Act, which gives Congress the sole power to decide whether the United States is at war.
But Trump didn't seem bothered by the resolution. Last week, several congressional committees received a memo claiming that the President had declared a state of “non-international armed conflict” against boats that are part of “designated terrorist organizations.” But if the US is at war, that should be decided by Congress, not Trump. And if Trump is allowed to use this justification, he could potentially declare war on any group he wishes.
While the issue may face some difficulty getting through the GOP-controlled House and Senate, the Democratic effort already appears to have some bipartisan support, at least from Republican Sen. Rand Paul. outspoken critic Trump administration strike policies.
“I think blowing up boats in the Caribbean is not the answer,” Paul said on Newsmax on Wednesday. He noted that 25 percent of searches of vessels suspected of carrying drugs did not turn up actual drugs. If you use this logic, then most likely one of the boats blown up by the military was not actually a smuggling vessel.
The Trump administration hasn't been particularly forthcoming about the details of the extrajudicial strikes—for starters, how many there actually were.
Speaking at a celebration of the US Navy's 250th anniversary on Sunday, Trump said there had been another strike the day before. According to the Pentagon, this claim has not been confirmed. Reuters. Two US officials told the publication they were not aware of such an operation that day, although it is possible that the president was referring to Friday's strike that left four suspected drug traffickers dead. And last month, referring to a previous strike he posted on social media, Trump said the military struck three boats, not just the two shown in the video.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have officially announced only four strikes, but the actual number could be as high as six. It seems difficult to achieve accountability when the president is so willing to lie.
