Two Senate Republicans reportedly joined Democrats on Wednesday in an unsuccessful attempt to curb President Donald Trump’s authority to carry out military strikes on drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean — a move that exposed a rare split within the GOP as the vast majority of Americans continue to support the president’s aggressive stance against cartels.
The resolution, led by Senate Democrats and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, sought to limit Trump’s power to authorize strikes without congressional approval.
Its backers argued that only Congress has the constitutional right to declare war and accused the administration of failing to justify the recent attacks.
Despite their objections, the measure was defeated, preserving Trump’s ability to continue what his administration calls a campaign against “narco-terrorists.”
The Trump administration has designated several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has launched a series of military strikes targeting Venezuelan trafficking operations.
Over the past month, four strikes on ships belonging to the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua have reportedly killed 21 individuals attempting to smuggle narcotics into the United States.
Those operations have drawn overwhelming public approval. A September Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 71 percent of Americans support Trump’s decision to destroy drug boats, making it one of the most popular initiatives of his presidency.
The White House urged lawmakers to reject the resolution, arguing that the commander in chief has clear constitutional authority to act against threats to U.S. national security.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced that point, telling reporters, “These are targeted strikes against imminent threats against the United States.” He warned that the 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,” calling the proposal “dangerous” and a risk to “our children, citizens, soldiers, and allies.”
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina echoed that sentiment, saying, “Drug cartels from Mexico and Venezuela have killed more Americans than any foreign enemy, yet Democrats are pushing a resolution that would let deadly drugs keep flowing into our country. As Commander in Chief, @POTUS is lawfully protecting our homeland and stopping narco-terrorists who threaten our safety. His leadership is saving American lives.”
Still, two Republicans broke ranks. Sen. Rand Paul warned that without greater oversight, innocent people could be killed in the strikes. “Coast Guard statistics show that 25% of the time when they do an inspection of a boat suspected of drugs that there are no drugs,” Paul said. “If 25% of the time when they board a ship, there’s no drugs, what about the ones that are being blown up without being boarded?”
Paul questioned whether the administration was identifying legitimate targets. “Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them?” he asked on the Senate floor.
His concerns were sharply rebuked by fellow Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno, who accused Paul of “prioritizing foreign terrorist drug traffickers” over the safety of Americans suffering from the fentanyl epidemic. “JD [Vance] understands that our first responsibility is to protect the life and liberty of American citizens,” Moreno said.
Democrats largely united behind the resolution, calling the strikes unconstitutional. “We have to be extremely careful that no president, not Trump or anybody else, has unilateral power to take this country into war,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. California Democrat Adam Schiff argued that allowing a president to “unilaterally put people or groups on a list and kill them” would erase “any meaningful limit to his use of force.”
Despite those objections, the Senate’s rejection of the measure ensures Trump’s campaign against cartel-linked traffickers will continue — a policy that, for now, enjoys strong backing from both the public and many within his party.
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