Republican Senators sunk a measure to halt the U.S. military’s strikes against alleged boats off the coast of Venezuela that President Trump’s administration argues are smuggling drugs into the country.
The resolution, spearheaded by Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Tim Kaine (Va.), failed to pass in a 48-51 vote on Wednesday.
The measure would have stopped the U.S. military from taking out vessels from Venezuela that the president argued were smuggling fentanyl into the U.S.
“And we are here today to ask our colleagues to join us in this nonpartisan vote, in this affirmation of Congress’s authority to declare war or to refuse to declare it, to authorize force, or to refuse to authorize it,” Schiff said Wednesday on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.
“We have been precise and deliberate with crafting this resolution does not affect the United States’ ability to target terrorist groups covered by Congress’s existing authorizations to use military force,” the California senator added.
The U.S. military has conducted four strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea since early September, killing a total of 21 people, according to the Trump administration. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the latest strike, which took place earlier this month, took out a boat allegedly carrying narcotics in international waters, killing four people on board.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro alleged on Wednesday that the latest boat struck by the Trump administration was Colombian and carried Colombian citizens. The Hill has reached out to Colombia’s embassy in Washington, D.C. for further comment.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, railed against the resolution and argued the administration’s four strikes were “lawfully sound.”
“President Trump stated very clearly and repeatedly during the campaign that he would attack these cartels if necessary. This is simply him keeping his word to the American people. Also, the President’s strikes were lawfully sound and extremely limited,” Cotton said before the vote. “Because they’ve been going on for less than 60 days. They don’t even fall within the War Powers Resolution threshold.”
Last week, the president declared that the U.S. is now at war with drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations by the administration, providing legal rationale for the strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued the measure is unconstitutional and could put the lives of children and others at risk.
“This resolution aims to strip President Trump of his constitutional authority to protect Americans by authorizing military strikes against narco-terrorists, the Houthis, and other Iranian proxies,” Rubio said Wednesday on X. “This is dangerous — it puts our children, citizens, soldiers, and allies at risk.”
Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) were the only two GOP lawmakers to support the Wednesday motion, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution.
“The U.S. should not be blowing up boats without even knowing who’s on them,” Paul said Wednesday on X. “There’s no due process in that — no names, no evidence, no oversight.”
