House panel to be briefed on Trump's alleged drug boat strikes
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Trump at the White House on Oct. 23. Photo: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The House Armed Services Committee will be briefed Thursday morning by officials from the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff on the Trump administration's strikes against alleged drug boats, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The administration's refusal to seek congressional authorization for the strikes and the limited information it has given lawmakers justifying them have led to bipartisan tensions.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters at a press conference Wednesday there has been "zero evidence presented to me ... to justify the strikes that have taken place."
- "We'll see whether the administration can finally come forward with evidence as to the nature of the people being killed, their connection to the drug trade, and what legal authority does the administration have to engage in what some have characterized as extrajudicial killings," he said.
Driving the news: Jeffries and Republican staff on the Armed Services Committee both confirmed that a briefing on the subject was scheduled for Thursday.
- The top secret, members-only briefing is set for 10am ET at the U.S. Capitol complex and will cover "counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and Pacific," according to an invite viewed by Axios.
- The briefers listed in the invite are Rear Adm. Brian Bennett and Brigadier Gen. Eric Widmar of the Joint Chiefs and acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Tilley.
- A congressional aide familiar with the matter confirmed those details to Axios.
Zoom out: The U.S. has conducted at least 13 strikes and killed at least 57 people as of Tuesday in its expanding military campaign against "narco-terrorists," Axios' Julianna Bragg reported.
- But the administration has largely been silent about the identity of the targets and the evidence it has relied upon to justify the strikes.
- Trump has declared that the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels and consequently pointed to his authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution to justify unilateral military action.
Between the lines: Lawmakers in both parties have pushed back, noting that the administration is still required to notify Congress within 48 hours of a military strike under the War Powers Act of 1973.
- Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined Democrats in voting to block further strikes earlier this month.
- The measure, led by Paul and Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), failed 48-51, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voting with Republicans against it.
