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In a 51-48 vote, most Senate Republicans successfully slapped down a motion to discharge a measure aimed at putting the kibosh on President Donald Trump’s practice of unilaterally ordering strikes against vessels he alleges were ferrying drugs.
Two Senate Republicans, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted with Democrats in support of the motion to discharge the joint resolution from the Committee on Foreign Relations, but the motion failed to pass.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only member of his party to join Republicans in voting against the discharge motion.
WAR ON CARTELS? WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT HAS AN IRONCLAD CASE TO STRIKE NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS
Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski voted with Democrats in support of the motion to discharge the joint resolution from the Committee on Foreign Relations, but the motion failed to pass. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Fully support confronting the scourge of cartel drug trafficking to our nation,” Fetterman said in a post on X last month.
The text of the proposal reads, in part, “Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against any organization designated on or after February 20, 2025, as a foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist, any states in which those entities operate, or any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.”
Last month Trump announced several strikes against vessels, each of which he said resulted in the killing of “narcoterrorists.”
TRUMP ADMIN TELLS CONGRESS IT DETERMINED US ENGAGED IN FORMAL ‘ARMED CONFLICT’ WITH ‘TERRORIST’ DRUG CARTELS
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted about a strike earlier this month as well.
“Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route,” Hegseth declared in the post on X.
“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!” he exclaimed.
US STRIKES ANOTHER ALLEGED DRUG-TRAFFICKING BOAT NEAR VENEZUELA, KILLING 4
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GOP Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who voted against the motion to discharge, said in part of a statement that he “cannot support a resolution that potentially handcuffs our ability to protect American service members in the Middle East.”
“Despite my opposition to this resolution, I am highly concerned about the legality of recent strikes in the Caribbean and the trajectory of military operations without congressional approval or debate and the support of the American people. While the Constitution grants Article II authorities to the executive branch to defend against imminent threats, Congress alone is entrusted with decisions of war and peace,” he said in another portion of the statement.
