WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security; released the following statement in response to President Trump announcing a second U.S. military strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela.
“Yesterday, we were notified that the military has, on President Trump’s orders, carried out another lethal military strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. As was the case with the first strike on September 2, 2025, the Trump Administration failed to secure authorization for the use of force from Congress. Yet again, the president has made the unilateral decision to carry out a lethal military strike on the premise that a small boat holding three people located off the coast of Venezuela somehow posed an emergency created by an attack upon the United States and warranted lethal military force rather than a law enforcement response. While we agree that the flow of drugs into the United States is a horrific public health crisis that must be addressed, we believe that essential mission should be led by law enforcement.
“Trump’s dangerous expansion and abuse of presidential authority risks dragging us into another endless war. He has failed to state a clear military objective and has provided no explanation of how this use of the military could ever end. A war with cartels places our troops and other U.S. personnel in the region at risk with no clear explanation or plan.
“The lack of transparency and information sharing with Congress, which has the constitutional responsibility to declare war and authorize or limit the use of force, poses an even greater threat to our democratic system of government. The Trump Administration must immediately brief the relevant Congressional committees on the use of military force in the Caribbean Sea and address these critical oversight questions about the details of the strikes, their legal basis, and why the president has made this a military operation.”
“Yesterday, we were notified that the military has, on President Trump’s orders, carried out another lethal military strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. As was the case with the first strike on September 2, 2025, the Trump Administration failed to secure authorization for the use of force from Congress. Yet again, the president has made the unilateral decision to carry out a lethal military strike on the premise that a small boat holding three people located off the coast of Venezuela somehow posed an emergency created by an attack upon the United States and warranted lethal military force rather than a law enforcement response. While we agree that the flow of drugs into the United States is a horrific public health crisis that must be addressed, we believe that essential mission should be led by law enforcement.
“Trump’s dangerous expansion and abuse of presidential authority risks dragging us into another endless war. He has failed to state a clear military objective and has provided no explanation of how this use of the military could ever end. A war with cartels places our troops and other U.S. personnel in the region at risk with no clear explanation or plan.
“The lack of transparency and information sharing with Congress, which has the constitutional responsibility to declare war and authorize or limit the use of force, poses an even greater threat to our democratic system of government. The Trump Administration must immediately brief the relevant Congressional committees on the use of military force in the Caribbean Sea and address these critical oversight questions about the details of the strikes, their legal basis, and why the president has made this a military operation.”
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