Lethal U.S. military airstrikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea have congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle from Washington state raising concerns.
The latest attack, announced Sunday, is the seventh known strike since the Trump administration began the campaign in September. It killed three men. In total, the administration has acknowledged killing more than 30 people in the strikes.
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, and freshman U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, both say Congress should have more oversight of the attacks.
“I don’t have a problem with drug smugglers being sent to the bottom of the ocean,” Baumgartner said during a call with reporters on Sunday. “I do have concerns about the process.”
Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, wants House Speaker Mike Johnson to call the chamber back into session during the ongoing government shutdown for a hearing on the strikes.
“President Trump and his Administration continue to fail to answer pressing questions regarding the President’s orders to carry out lethal U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea,” Smith said in a statement.
“They have failed to demonstrate the legality of these strikes, provide transparency on the process used, or even a list of cartels that have been designated as terrorist organizations,” he added.
Baumgartner, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said “Congress does need to be involved when military action is taken.”
“I’ll be looking forward to getting updates from the White House and when we do return to D.C.,” he said, “to see what is the plan and what the authorization is.”
Baumgartner’s comments are a rare, albeit mild, rebuke of Trump administration policies from a congressional Republican.
Republican leadership in the Senate this month turned down a Democrat-backed measure to require congressional authorization for the strikes. Republican Sens. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, signaled support for the resolution.
The U.S. military in recent weeks has destroyed boats the White House suspects are being used by cartels to smuggle drugs from South America to the United States.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently accused the U.S. military of killing an innocent civilian in one of the incidents. Trump responded by saying he would cut off foreign aid to the country.
The Trump administration sent two survivors of a strike last week back to their home countries — Colombia and Ecuador — instead of prosecuting or detaining them.
The White House says the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels to justify killing the alleged traffickers, instead of arresting them. Legal experts have widely disputed this rationale.
Meanwhile, the military leader overseeing the boat strikes announced last week he was stepping down less than a year into his tenure as head of the U.S. Southern Command. It was unclear if Adm. Alvin Holsey’s decision was tied to friction with the White House over the attacks.
Smith called for Holsey to testify before Congress.
“Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil,” Smith said.
Trump has also reportedly authorized covert CIA action in Venezuela, and suggested carrying out land assaults there against suspected cartel activity.
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