Rubio, Hegseth brief lawmakers on boat strikes as frustration grows on Capitol Hill : NPR

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed a group of senior members of Congress behind closed doors Wednesday after President Trump's order for a wave of unprecedented U.S. military strikes on suspected drug vessels raises the specter of a new war.

Legal analysts have broadly described the strikes as illegal under both US and international law — in part because they were not authorized by Congress.

Trump officials invited a dozen members of Congress, including Republican and Democratic leaders and top lawmakers from the intelligence and armed services committees in both chambers. A growing bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced months of demands for more information about the attacks.

Since the strikes started in September at least 66 people died as a result of 16 strikes In the Caribbean and Pacific, according to the administration. Trump said last month that he had approved covert operations in Venezuelaafter which came the order to send US naval buildup in South American waters. Pentagon officials said the nation's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and its strike group, marking 20% of the Navy's deployed warships is now heading to the region.

The White House on Tuesday disputed claims that it has not been transparent enough with Congress about the strikes and military buildup in the region. White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters that the meeting was the highest example of their cooperation and noted that his appearance was the ninth briefing to date.

“The president has made it very clear that if senators want to understand the administration's actions against drug traffickers, we are very happy to talk to them about it,” she said.

However, many of the prominent congressional briefings were limited in scope and targeted at small groups of Republicans.

Last week, Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized Trump administration officials for holding a closed-door briefing with about a dozen Republican senators — and not a single Democrat. Warner said someone should be “fired” for the gaffe.

“We have reached a new low: What this administration has done in the last 24 hours is not only destructive to our democracy, but downright dangerous to our national security,” said Warner, a Virginia Democrat.

Wednesday's meeting marked the first time Rubio and Hegseth briefed top lawmakers on the strikes since they began more than two months ago. During that time, members complained that they had no legal basis for Trump's orders for the attacks, access to a secret list of targets or broader information about the evidence found and the identities of those killed.

A small bipartisan group of lawmakers intends to vote in the coming days and weeks to block Trump's use of the military to fight in or against Venezuela. Behind closed doors, Trump officials are lobbying Republicans to vote against it.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Vt., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., introduced the war powers resolution after Trump said he was considering military strikes inside Venezuela. They argue that—as the Constitution makes clear—Congress retains the power to declare war, not the President.

Earlier vote to limit strikes in the Caribbean unsuccessful. Two Republicans, Paul and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Democrats in voting 48 to 51. However, Kaine argues that this new vote has a chance of passing because the previous resolution's focus on the Caribbean alienated some members, and this resolution is clearer.