Republicans Brush Off War Powers Concerns as Rubio, Hegseth Tell Senators Caribbean Boat Strike Video Will Not Be Released

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday that the full video of the “double-tap” strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in September will not be released. After the briefing, no Republican senators challenged President Trump’s ability to take out President Maduro of Venezuela, as he has implied he will do. Messrs. Rubio and Hegseth made a rare joint trip to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to brief senators on the bombing campaign in the Caribbean. During that meeting, senators were told the video of a potentially illegal second strike on one disabled boat would not be released in-full to Congress, let alone to the general public. Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the subcommittee which writes the Pentagon’s budget every year, said after the briefing that the video would not be released because of “classification concerns” — a justification he did not find adequate. “I think it is important that the national security team of the Trump administration increasingly respect and recognize the role of our Congress. If we are working together to enhance the national security of the American people, we can accomplish a lot,” Mr. Coons told reporters at the Capitol. “If we are constantly skirmishing over small issues like this … we will not.”The Defense Department has continued the boat strikes unabated since September, despite concerns from Democratic lawmakers. Just on Monday, U.S. Southern Command announced that strikes on three additional boats had taken place. Senator Markwayne Mullin, a friend of both Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, said after the briefing that he fully supports the administration’s decision to not release the full video. He says only members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees should be able to see it, considering they oversee the Defense Department. “These are terrorist organizations that are poisoning our streets,” Mr. Mullin said of the drug cartels that the administration says it is disrupting in the Caribbean. “What’s the difference between Obama attacking these terrorist organizations when they were in the Middle East versus the ones that are here right now poisoning our streets?”Mr. Trump himself previously said that he would “certainly” be fine releasing the full video of the strike, though he walked that back days later. “I didn’t say that,” Mr. Trump responded when a reporter asked about his previous comments.Additional concerns about the boat strikes are just one part of the broader operation in the southern hemisphere. In an interview with Politico on December 9, the president said Mr. Maduro’s days as president of Venezuela are “numbered.”The possibility of Mr. Maduro being taken out by U.S. forces seemed to become more likely on Tuesday after White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that the goal of the Caribbean operation was to continue until Mr. Maduro “cries uncle” — implying that the bombing would not cease until he left power, either by his own volition or by force. When asked by the New York Sun on Tuesday if they had any concerns about congressional authorization for military operations inside of Venezuela, several GOP senators declined to voice support for a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force. “He’s an illegitimate president and a narco-terrorist,” Senator Thom Tillis told the Sun of Mr. Maduro on Tuesday. “Getting rid of him is a good thing.”“I’m not aware of any military action that’s been threatened against Maduro or that it’s actually going to be ordered,” Senator John Cornyn told the Sun before getting on an elevator. Senator Mike Rounds similarly declined to offer any support or opposition to military strikes or congressional authorization. “We have not talked about what the president might do in the future. I’ll leave it at that,” Mr. Rounds told the Sun. “That was never a conversation,” Mr. Mullin told reporters of direct attacks on Venezuelan territory. Senator Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, is pushing Mr. Trump to launch attacks against Mr. Maduro without congressional authorization, citing precedent for unilateral military action by past presidents. “In 1989, President Bush 41 literally invaded Panama — dropped in the 82nd Airborne [Division] —taking the president of Panama out … putting him in an American prison because he was a narco-terrorist. There is no difference,” Mr. Graham told reporters after the briefing. “If Maduro is what they say he is — and I believe them — he needs to go. It should be the policy of the United States that when this is over, he’s no longer standing.”“If that’s the goal, count me in,” Mr. Graham said.

Republicans Brush Off War Powers Concerns as Rubio, Hegseth Tell Senators Caribbean Boat Strike Video Will Not Be Released

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