A pair of Senate Democrats is responding to a series of unprecedented U.S. military strikes on alleged drug traffickers at sea ordered by President Trump with a plan to force a Senate vote on a war powers resolution blocking the escalated action by the commander in chief.
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., are pushing for the vote despite tough odds for passage as support among Republicans appears limited so far. They argue the White House has not provided evidence to justify the attacks, which they believe are illegal and unconstitutional.
The two Democrats also say it's clear Congress has not authorized the use of such force.
"The resolution would stop this blowing up of ships," Schiff told reporters in the Capitol ahead of the vote. "It would also address the administrations' threat that they're going to go potentially beyond blowing up ships at sea to attacking targets on land in Venezuela or elsewhere."
Last month, Trump ordered three U.S. military strikes on boats after administration officials suspected them as carrying members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang smuggling drug shipments from Venezuela. So far 21 people have been killed, but their identities have yet to be shared.
Venezuelan officials say at least some of those killed were not gang members, creating a new unease in the region. But the Trump administration insists the strikes were entirely legal, arguing narco-traffickers are now military threats and not law enforcement threats.
The move has upended the U.S. drug interdiction program, where the Coast Guard traditionally intercepts vessels at sea, confiscates illegal drugs and takes suspected drug traffickers into custody to face criminal charges.
Kaine said more than two dozen congressional Democrats wrote the Trump administration demanding answers to a series of questions regarding the legal basis for the strike, but have yet to get a response weeks later. Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said one closed door briefing has been held for senators so far, but that brought little clarity.
"A room full of people from the administration," Kaine told reporters. Yet "no information about why attacking rather than interdicting."
Kaine and Schiff worry that the military strikes could lead the U.S. unexpectedly and unintentionally into war.
It's unclear many Republicans will join Democrats in the effort, with a vote expected in the coming day. However, Schiff and Kaine said they could bring the resolution up again if it doesn't pass on the first try.
It appears at least one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has long pushed war powers limits, is on board. Many others, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have defended the administration's actions, arguing the rules of engagement have shifted.
However, Schiff and Kaine say without the identities of those killed, it's possible the U.S. got it wrong or may in the future.
"I have no idea precisely the identities of who was on these ships, or even whether the administration knows their identities, and that's a real problem," Schiff said. "Are they killing people who were not engaged in trafficking? I just don't know the answer to that question."
Kaine says that fuels a new wave of questions.
"The suspicious mind in me says it's because there aren't good answers," he said.
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