‘Kill drug dealers’: GOP backs Trump strikes as Democrats warn of war crimes

As scrutiny mounts on the Trump administration’s use of force in targeting suspected cartel members in the Caribbean, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were asked whether they believe victims of U.S. citizens or drug traffickers are more important.

Republicans like Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said the answer is easy.

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but my biggest concern is the American citizens, their lives and their health. So for me, it’s an easy choice. Kill the drug dealers, save Americans,” Sheehy said.

But Democrats had less black and white views on the strikes.

D-Art. “Look, I fully support doing everything we can through legal means to make sure we stop drug trafficking,” said Rep. Johnny Olszewski, adding: “We should absolutely be concerned about the victims of drug trafficking and the people who are losing their lives to drug violence.”

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“We support all efforts” [interdict]Arrest people trying to smuggle drugs into this country and hold them accountable. But we have a rule of law and our rules of engagement are there for a reason. So we have to make sure that we have full transparency about how these strikes are happening,” Olszewski continued.

He added that “if the report is true, the administration’s drug boat attacks are against our laws and may actually be a war crime.”

“So it deserves a full investigation; the details need to be released. And again, you know, I fully support doing everything we can to stop drug trafficking, but that means we need to make sure that we do it within the rule of law and the rules that we have in this country.”

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., asked: “Is this going to actually do anything to help them?” He rejected the question.

“The cocaine is still flowing, the demand is still there,” Smith said. “You see a drug dealer on the street, that’s a bad person. That person is selling drugs. Let’s say they’re selling real fentanyl, not the cocaine that we shot here. Would you support allowing someone to execute that person on the spot? … You want to get tough on drug dealers. Drug dealers are bad people. Why do we need due process? Why do you need probability? Why?”

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Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the final votes of the week on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“Don’t give me bullshit about how this proves you don’t care.” [selling drugs]” he said. “I care about selling drugs. I do not want a fascist regime that decides who it can kill when it wants to kill, without controlling this power in any way. “This doesn’t make any sense in the United States, or at least the United States of America I want us to have.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., responded: “We should do whatever we can to disrupt drug distribution. We should also invest in drug health care and drug education, etc. We should do everything. The question is, how do you do it the right way?”

When asked whether the government should prioritize drug victims over traffickers, Reed replied, “I commented, and thank you for asking” before leaving.

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Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wisc., during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington on Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., simply replied, “Congress needs to do its job: oversight” and walked away.

Republicans, meanwhile, were much more one-sided in their response.

Sen. RW.Va. “If it disrupts the flow of a drug coming into West Virginia, I’m all for it,” Shelley Moore Capito said.

“I come from a state that has historically had huge drug problems. There are a lot of deaths from fentanyl and overdoses,” Capito said. “So I support anything the president can do to stop the flow of fentanyl. And [with] “From what I understand, the intelligence on narco-terrorism and these attacks is pretty solid.”

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“For too long, politicians have been satisfied with hundreds of thousands of Americans dying from drug overdoses every year. Finally, President Trump came on stage and said, ‘No more,'” said Representative Glenn Grothman.

“If you’re going to attack our country, and these people know full well Americans are dying because of their actions. If you’re going to attack our country, we will respond in time,” Grothman added.