Senate Republicans vote against check on Trump using deadly force against cartels | US Senate

Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected legislation that would have curbed Donald Trump’s ability to use lethal military force against drug cartels after Democrats sought to counter the administration’s extraordinary presidential war powers to destroy ships in the Caribbean.

The vote fell mostly along party lines, 48-51; Two Republicans, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski, voted in favor, while Democrat John Fetterman voted against.

It was the first vote in Congress on Trump’s military campaign, which has so far destroyed four ships, killed at least 21 people and prevented narcotics from reaching the United States, according to the White House. The war powers resolution would require the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes against the cartels.

The Trump administration justified using military force by arguing that drug traffickers are armed warriors who threaten the United States. But that claim was met with some unease on Capitol Hill.

Some Republicans want more clarification from the White House on the legal justification for the attack and the details of how it was carried out, while Democrats insist they violated US and international law. This is a conflict that could redefine how the world’s most powerful military uses lethal force and set the course for future global conflict.

The White House had indicated that Trump would veto the legislation, and although the vote failed in the Senate, it gave lawmakers the opportunity to register their objections to Trump’s statement that the United States was in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

“The fact that a significant number of legislators are saying, ‘Hey, this is a bad idea’ sends a message,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who co-sponsored the resolution with California Democrat Adam Schiff.

Wednesday’s vote was held under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which sought to reassert congressional authority over declaring war.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has long pushed for more oversight by Congress over war powers, said in a floor speech: “Congress must not allow the executive branch to be judge, jury and executioner.”

Paul was the only Republican to speak in favor of the resolution before the vote, but some Republican senators questioned the attacks on the ships and said they had not received enough information from the administration.

Republican senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota acknowledged at the Republican conference that “there might be some concerns” about strikes. But Republican leaders spoke out sharply against the resolution in the Senate on Wednesday, calling it a political ploy by Democrats.

“People were attacking our country by bringing toxic substances that could kill Americans to drop into our country,” said Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee. “Fortunately, most of these drugs are now at the bottom of the ocean.”

Risch thanked Trump for his actions and added that he hoped the military strikes would continue.

Members of the Senate armed services committee received a classified briefing on the attacks last week, and Cramer said he was “at least satisfied with the persuasiveness of their legal arguments.” But he added that no one representing intelligence agencies or the military command structure in Central and South America was present at the briefing.

“I would be more comfortable defending the administration if they shared the information,” he said.

Kaine also said the briefing did not include any information about why the military chose to destroy the ships rather than interdict them, rather than go into detail about how the military was so sure the ships were carrying drugs.

“Maybe they were smuggling people or maybe it was the wrong ship,” Schiff said. “We have little to no information about who was on those ships, what intelligence was used, what the motive was, and how confident we can be that everyone on that ship deserved to die.”

Democrats also said the administration told them it would add cartels to the list of organizations deemed “narco-terrorist” that are targets of military strikes, but did not show lawmakers a complete list.

“The slow erosion of congressional oversight is not an abstract discussion of the process,” Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, said in a floor speech. “This is a real and present threat to our democracy.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Republican conference for lunch Wednesday to emphasize to senators that they should vote against the legislation. According to Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, he told senators that the administration is treating the cartels like government entities because the cartels have taken control of large swaths of some Caribbean countries.

“These drug trafficking organizations pose a direct threat to the safety and security of the United States by unleashing violence and crime fueled by drugs and their drug profits onto our streets… And the president has an obligation as commander in chief to keep our country safe,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol.

Still, Democrats said the recent buildup of U.S. naval forces in the Caribbean was a sign that shifting U.S. priorities and tactics could have serious repercussions. They worried that further military strikes could trigger a conflict with Venezuela and argued that Congress should actively negotiate when American troops are sent to war.

“This is the kind of thing that unexpectedly and unintentionally drags a country into war,” Schiff said.