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Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine have introduced a joint resolution<\/a> under the War Powers Act to block the U.S. military from engaging in hostilities with certain nonstate actors without congressional authorization. The move is in response to recent U.S. strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela. The strikes, which the Trump administration has said targeted \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d transporting illegal drugs to the United States, have raised alarm bells in Washington and beyond\u2014with many questioning the justifications for and legality of the actions<\/a>.<\/p>\n At least 14 people were killed by U.S. strikes on alleged drug cartel boats on Sept. 2 and 15. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday also suggested that a third boat<\/a> had been targeted, but he didn\u2019t provide specific details.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine have introduced a joint resolution<\/a> under the War Powers Act to block the U.S. military from engaging in hostilities with certain nonstate actors without congressional authorization. The move is in response to recent U.S. strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela. The strikes, which the Trump administration has said targeted \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d transporting illegal drugs to the United States, have raised alarm bells in Washington and beyond\u2014with many questioning the justifications for and legality of the actions<\/a>.<\/p>\n At least 14 people were killed by U.S. strikes on alleged drug cartel boats on Sept. 2 and 15. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday also suggested that a third boat<\/a> had been targeted, but he didn\u2019t provide specific details.<\/p>\n Trump has characterized the strikes as necessary to protect national security. \u201cThese extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests,\u201d Trump said<\/a> in a recent post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n But critics have said the strikes were illegal under both U.S. and international law, rejecting the notion that drug traffickers qualify as combatants.<\/p>\n Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, an adversary and a sharp critic of the United States, decried<\/a> the Sept. 2 strike as a \u201cmilitary attack on civilians.\u201d The strikes, combined with the buildup of U.S. military assets in the Caribbean, have led to speculation that Trump\u2019s goal in Venezuela is regime change. Trump has denied<\/a> this.<\/p>\n Schiff on Friday told Foreign Policy<\/em> that it\u2019s \u201cvery difficult to tell\u201d what the Trump administration\u2019s end game is with the strikes. \u201cCertainly, they\u2019re aiming to look strong on counternarcotics, but they\u2019re also looking very reckless,\u201d Schiff said. \u201cThis is a dangerous, lawless thing to do,\u201d he added, referring to the strikes as \u201cessentially extrajudicial killings.\u201d<\/p>\n Schiff said he was particularly struck by Trump\u2019s vague comments about a third boat being targeted and that there was no notification to Congress on this.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone is going to make a serious mistake,\u201d Schiff said. \u201cIt\u2019s possible they already have. We just don\u2019t know, and that is one of the reasons why we\u2019re forcing a vote on the War Powers Resolution to put members of the Senate on record.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement on Friday, Kaine said<\/a> the Trump administration had not provided Congress with \u201cbasic information about the multiple strikes it has carried out, including who was killed, why it was necessary to put servicemembers\u2019 lives at risk, and why a standard interdiction operation wasn\u2019t conducted.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon reportedly conducted a classified briefing on the strikes with members of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, but attendees apparently emerged unsatisfied with the information provided, per the New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n While the U.S. Constitution<\/span> grants Congress alone the power to declare war, it also designates the president as the commander in chief of the military, which is generally interpreted as bestowing broad authority to take actions necessary for national security. Presidents from both parties have taken military action without congressional approval, and Trump is not the first to face criticism from lawmakers along these lines.<\/p>\n But lethally targeting alleged drug traffickers is seemingly an unprecedented use of military force, and opponents of the recent strikes contend that Trump\u2019s actions dangerously stretch the limits of presidential authority. Maritime counternarcotics operations are generally carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard and involve disabling vessels, not destroying them.<\/p>\n Questions have also been raised as to whether the boats targeted truly belonged to drug cartels.<\/p>\n When asked whether it was possible that people who are not involved in drug trafficking were on any of the vessels targeted, Schiff said, \u201cWe just don\u2019t know. We\u2019ve gotten little or no information from the White House and the Defense Department about this.\u201d<\/p>\n Schiff said it\u2019s possible the United States knows exactly who was on the boats, but \u201cgiven the \u2018shoot first, ask questions later\u2019 attitude of this administration, I don\u2019t want to count on that being the case.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaine and Schiff\u2019s resolution expresses support for providing the executive branch with resources and authorities to counter the spread of illegal drugs in the United States. It also states that they\u2019re not aiming to prevent the United States from \u201cdefending itself from an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack\u201d but that the \u201ctrafficking of illegal drugs does not itself constitute such an armed attack or threat.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In recent years,<\/span> lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for presidential war powers to be reined in and for Congress to reassert its authority over the military.<\/p>\n In the wake of the 9\/11 attacks, Congress passed Authorizations for Use of Military Force that have been used by multiple presidents as a blank check to wage war against jihadi terrorist groups in countries around the world. Though Trump designated the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua and other drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations or specially designated global terrorists not long after returning to the White House, Congress has not authorized the use of military force against such groups.<\/p>\n While many Republican lawmakers have applauded<\/a> the recent strikes near Venezuela, Sen. Rand Paul has issued sharp criticism of the Trump administration over these actions\u2014taking particular issue with comments by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cKilling cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,\u201d Vance wrote<\/a> in a Sept. 6 post on X. In an X post responding to the vice president, Paul wrote<\/a>: \u201cWhat a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked whether Paul or other Republicans had expressed support for the resolution, Schiff said there has been engagement with Republican senators at the staff level. \u201cI would love to have bipartisan support for this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n War powers resolutions are privileged, which means the Senate will have to vote on this in the near future. However, Schiff said the precise timing of a vote is unclear.<\/p>\n In response to a request for comment on Kaine and Schiff\u2019s resolution, White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly told Foreign Policy<\/em>, \u201cIt\u2019s shameful that Democrats are running cover for evil narcoterrorists trying to poison our homeland as over 100,000 Americans die from overdoses every year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe President acted in line with the laws of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans,\u201d Kelly added.<\/p>\n
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