Adam Schiff to Force Senate Vote on Curbing Trump’s Powers

Senate Democrats said Wednesday that they plan to force a vote on President Donald Trump’s extrajudicial military strikes on foreign vessels he claims are smuggling drugs.

Senators Adam Schiff and Tim Kaine announced their intention to force a vote on the Trump administration’s decision to execute military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean. The government has provided no evidence that the vessels were linked to drug cartels, or that the individuals on board were drug smugglers. Having conducted no searches, no arrests, and no trials, the military had them summarily executed.

“If a president can unilaterally put people or groups on a list and kill them, there is no meaningful limit to his use of force,” Schiff wrote in a post on X.

Last month, the duo introduced a privileged resolution to stop the strikes under the War Powers Act, which grants Congress sole authority to decide whether the United States is at war.

But Trump seemed unbothered by the resolution. Last week, multiple congressional committees received a memo asserting that the president had declared a state of “non-international armed conflict” against boats that are part of “designated terrorist organizations.” But if the U.S. is at war, that’s for Congress to decide—not Trump. And if allowed to use this justification, Trump could potentially declare war against any group he wants.

While the issue may have some difficulties making its way through the GOP-controlled House and Senate, it seems that the Democratic effort already has some bipartisan support, at least from Republican Senator Rand Paul, an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s policy on the strikes.

“I think blowing up speedboats in the Caribbean isn’t the answer,” Paul said on Newsmax Wednesday. He pointed out that 25 percent of searches of suspected drug-trafficking boats yielded no actual drugs. Using that logic meant it was more than likely one of the boats the military had blown up wasn’t actually a smuggling vessel.

The Trump administration has been less than forthcoming about the details of the extrajudicial strikes—for starters, how many there have actually been.

Speaking for the U.S Navy’s 250th anniversary Sunday, Trump claimed that there had been yet another strike the day before—a claim that the Pentagon has not confirmed, according to Reuters. Two U.S. officials told the outlet they were unaware of any such operation that day, though it’s possible the president could have been referring to a strike that occurred on Friday that killed four alleged drug traffickers. And last month, when speaking about a previous strike that he had posted about on social media, Trump claimed that the military had struck three boats, not just the two shown in the video.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have only formally announced four strikes, but the actual number could be as high as six. It seems it’s proven difficult to obtain accountability when the president so readily lies.