The Senate on Wednesday narrowly rejected a bid by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., to block President Donald Trump’s expanded U.S. military strikes on drug traffickers in international waters.
The Senate voted 51-48 against the joint war powers resolution, with Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joining the majority. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas did not vote.
The chances of such a resolution passing were slim, given that Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and the White House indicated that Trump would veto it had it reached his desk. The vote was brought under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which was intended to reassert congressional power over the declaration of war.
Schiff and Kaine argued that the White House had not provided evidence to justify the attacks, which they claimed were illegal and unconstitutional. The measure would have barred U.S. forces from “engaging in hostilities against nonstate organizations until formally authorized by Congress.”
In a Statement of Administrative Policy released Tuesday, the White House said the resolution “fails to account for the extraordinary national security and foreign policy threat posed by the violent drug trafficking cartels the United States has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.”
“These organizations have brought devastating consequences on American citizens and threatening our national security both at home and abroad,” the statement said. “In the face of instability or unwillingness of some States in the region to address the continuing threat to the United States, President Trump directed the United States Armed Forces to take action to address this threat and protect our most vital national interests.”
The White House said the U.S. military has carried out four strikes in the Caribbean Sea against boats the administration said were run by drug cartels, killing 21 people, according to The Hill.
“Congress alone holds the power to declare war,” Schiff said last month in a news release. “And while we share with the executive branch the imperative of preventing and deterring drugs from reaching our shores, blowing up boats without any legal justification risks dragging the United States into another war and provoking unjustified hostilities against our own citizens.
“Congress must be fully briefed on these operations and if the administration believes there is a case to make for a war authorization — it should make it. But this unauthorized and illegal use of our military must stop.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the latest strike, which was conducted Friday, was against a vessel affiliated with a designated terrorist organization in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.
He said no U.S. military personnel were injured, and the strike took place in international waters.
“Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route,” Hegseth wrote on X. “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over.”
Trump last week declared that drug cartels are unlawful combatants and said the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them.
“In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists out of the water” he told service members Sunday at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., is leading a companion effort on the war powers resolution in the House, though a vote on his measure isn’t expected until after the government shutdown ends.
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