Trump Admin Reportedly Believes Strikes On Alleged Drug Boats Are So Popular That They Won't Need Approval From Congress

The Trump administration is so confident that its military campaign in the Caribbean, which includes strikes against alleged drug boats, is so popular that it doesn't need approval from Congress, according to a new report.

Concretely, a White House official told Politico that the strikes against the vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific fulfill a campaign promise from Donald Trump to deal with drug cartels.

The official went on to say that lawmakers have been briefed on the strikes several times since the campaign began in September and that the administration is "working through additional requests for information from the Hill."

However, a growing number of Republican senators are publicly demanding greater oversight of the campaign, arguing they have been left out.

"I think we've got to be very careful when you're talking about ordering a kinetic strike," said Republican Senator Thom Tillis to The New York Times recently, while Republican Senator Susan Collins added that the Senate should "pass a resolution that either authorizes his force or prevents its use."

Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma told C-SPAN the White House "needs to give insight" to Congress, adding: "If this was happening, with this level of insight, under the Biden administration, I'd be apoplectic We're not his opponent on this, we are an ally in this to be able to solve it, but we need to be able to have a voice on it as a coequal branch"

"We have oversight responsibilities, and we expect to get our questions answered," Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in the same interview.

Libertarian Republican Senator Rand Paul has been among the sharpest critics, calling the strikes "extrajudicial killings" and saying that "no one said their name, no one said what evidence, no one said whether they're armed, and we've had no evidence presented."

An official also told the outlet that "Latin American 'adventurers' are an age-old presidential hobby, but I expect there will be some wrestling with Congress on this." "And don't forget about the extreme isolationist streak in the MAGA base that is willing to apologize for Putin all in the name of 'peace.' That might also be a problem," the person added.

Trump has brushed off the critics, recently telling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a roundtable: "Pete, you go to Congress, you tell them about it. What are they going to say, 'Gee, we don't want to stop drugs pouring in?'"

Politico noted that the White House the rhetoric will have support from the electorate as they cast the strikes as necessary for defense and national security. Moreover, most Republicans in Congress have also supported the actions, or at least are not opposing them in public. Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch saying has no plans "at this time" to hold the hearings. He told Axios he has been "briefed on it and feel comfortable with where we are."