Senate rejects measure to curb boat strikes near Venezuela

A war powers resolution failed during a Wednesday evening vote, 48-51. Democratic Senators led by Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia sponsored it along with Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The resolution would have blocked President Donald Trump from authorizing further strikes on boats accused of smuggling narcotics off the coast of Venezuela. The sponsoring senators said Congress, rather than the White House, should bear responsibility for authorizing military force against people or entities not controlled by a government.

What is happening in Venezuela? The White House has launched four strikes on boats in international waters outside Venezuela since September, killing at least 21 people. In a memo to congressional committees sent last week, the White House reportedly said the United States was in armed conflict with narcotics traffickers. Senators leaving a closed-door briefing on the strikes said they did not receive confirmation that the people killed were confirmed drug traffickers or cartel members. The president has said that the strikes have saved lethal drugs from entering the U.S. and shared video of the strikes, but has not made public any evidence of his claims. In a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Kaine and Schiff said standard policy was to interdict boats and bring those aboard in for legal charges, not to strike first.

Was the vote expected? Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke ranks and voted against the resolution. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted in favor, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., did not vote either way. Most Republicans have said Trump is within his authority to continue military strikes. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told WORLD that the strikes likely fall into the president’s authority in the Constitution’s second article. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., told WORLD he trusts the White House to decide on further strikes based on military intelligence. Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told WORLD most Republicans would not support the war powers resolution but he is also waiting on further answers from the White House.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on escalating aircraft deployments near Venezuela.