{"id":2506323,"date":"2025-11-04T05:34:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T10:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-boat-strikes-dont-warrant-war-powers-act-regulation\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T05:37:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T10:37:07","slug":"trump-admin-boat-strikes-dont-warrant-war-powers-act-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-boat-strikes-dont-warrant-war-powers-act-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump admin: Boat strikes don&#8217;t warrant War Powers Act regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-admin-boat-strikes-dont-warrant-war-powers-act-regulation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2506323&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Trump governance has taken the position that recent U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >military strikes targeting alleged drug smugglers<\/a> in the Caribbean and Western Hemisphere do not meet the criteria requiring regulation under the 1973 War Powers Resolution (WPR). this law mandates congressional approval for sustained military actions,aiming to preserve Congress&#8217;s constitutional role in declaring war. After notifying Congress of the first strike in early September, a 60-day period began during which military action must cease absent congressional authorization-this period ended recently without further approval.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-citizen-held-hostage-for-six-years-in-west-africa-freed\/\" title=\"American citizen held hostage for six years in West Africa freed\">senior administration official stated<\/a> that the operations, conducted mainly by drones from naval vessels in international waters, do not expose American personnel to harm and therefore do not amount to &#8220;hostilities&#8221; as defined by the WPR. Despite labeling drug cartels as &#8220;terrorist organizations&#8221; and describing the U.S. as engaged in a &#8220;non<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-looks-to-pivot-to-land-drug-trafficking-after-deadly-boat-strikes\/\" title=\"Trump looks to pivot to land drug trafficking after deadly boat ...\">-international armed conflict<\/a>&#8221; with them, the administration distinguishes these actions from traditional warfare requiring congressional oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Members of Congress from both parties have expressed frustration over the lack of openness, demanding detailed details on the strikes, legal opinions, and the designation of cartels as terrorist entities. The military has carried out over a dozen strikes since September, resulting in more than 60 deaths, but details about the targets and seized drugs remain undisclosed.<\/p>\n<p>The administration is also increasing troop presence in the Caribbean for counter-narcotics efforts and has escalated warnings toward Venezuela&#8217;s Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, suggesting possible future operations on Venezuelan territory, signaling a potential intensification of military engagement in the region. the situation reflects a broader pattern of presidents challenging the War Powers Resolution&#8217;s limits on unilateral military actions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump administration argues Caribbean strikes do not meet requirements to be regulated by War Powers Resolution<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2389584\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\">Trump administration<\/a> does not believe the strikes the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/u-s-military\">military<\/a> has conducted targeting alleged drug smugglers in the Western Hemisphere meet the threshold to be regulated by a decades-old law designed to enshrine <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress&rsquo;s<\/a> role in declaring war.<\/p>\n<p>Any U.S. president needs approval from Congress for sustained military action following the passage of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which President&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/richard-nixon\/\">Richard Nixon<\/a> opposed toward the end of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vietnam-war\/\">Vietnam War<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3873842\/pelosi-rants-about-trump-vile-creature\/\">Pelosi rants about Trump calling him &lsquo;vile creature,&rsquo; calls Republicans &lsquo;puppets of Trump&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3873819\/earle-sears-urges-voters-to-reject-spanberger-virginia-race\/\">Earle-Sears urges voters to reject Spanberger in eleventh hour of Virginia 2025 race<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3873793\/sherrill-and-ciattarelli-rally-support-in-hometowns-before-election\/\">Sherrill and Ciattarelli rally support in their hometowns night before Election Day<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Trump administration notified Congress on Sept. 4 of its <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3790437\/us-lethal-strike-drug-vessel-venezuela\/\">first strike<\/a> targeting an alleged drug smuggling vessel, which occurred on Sept. 2; that started a 60-day time period as outlined by the War Powers Resolution.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of that period of time, the president has to stop all military action unless Congress has declared war, extended the deadline by 60 days, or is unable to meet in that time as a result of an armed attack. None of those things have happened to date, and the 60-day period ended Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration does not believe the current level of these operations meet the criteria to fall under the War Powers Resolution. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-to-release-revised-guidance-reducing-covid-19-quarantine-time-from-14-days-to-7-10\/\" title=\"CDC to release revised guidance reducing COVID-19 quarantine time from 14 days to 7-10\">senior administration official told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, &ldquo;Even at its broadest, the WPR has been understood to apply to placing U.S. servicemembers in harm&rsquo;s way.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The operation comprises precise strikes conducted largely by unmanned aerial vehicles launched from naval vessels in international waters at distances too far away for the crews of the targeted vessels to endanger American personnel,&rdquo; the official continued. &ldquo;The kinetic operations underway do not rise to the level of &lsquo;hostilities.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The head of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Department of Justice&rsquo;s<\/a> Office of Legal Counsel, T. Elliot Gaiser, told a handful of lawmakers last week of the administration&rsquo;s view, according to multiple <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/02\/politics\/justice-department-tells-congress-trump-doesnt-need-its-approval-for-military-strikes-on-alleged-drug-boats\">outlets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another part of the WPR requires the administration to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action, and the Trump administration complied with this requirement in early September.<\/p>\n<p>The administration&rsquo;s stance that the current way these operations are conducted does not meet the definition of &ldquo;hostilities&rdquo; is seemingly incongruent with their notification to Congress that the United States is in a &ldquo;non<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-carries-out-another-strike-on-narco-terrorists-in-caribbean\/\" title=\"Pentagon Carries Out Another ... on Narco Terrorists in ...\">-international armed conflict&#038;rdquo<\/a>; with the cartels, whom they&rsquo;ve deemed &ldquo;terrorist organizations&rdquo; and their members &ldquo;unlawful&nbsp;combatants.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In more than a dozen strikes since the start of September, the U.S. military has killed more than 60 people, whom they allege were drug smugglers. Neither the administration nor the military have released any details about the drugs allegedly on these vessels or the identities of the people killed.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of details about the operations has infuriated members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/roger-wicker\/\">Roger Wi<\/a>cker (R-MS) and ranking member <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-reed\/\">Jack Reed<\/a> (D-RI) released two letters last week that the pair previously sent to Secretary of War <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> seeking additional information on the strikes.<\/p>\n<p>They are seeking every execute order given by Hegseth or relevant combatant commanders that underpin these activities, any written opinions from the Department of Justice&rsquo;s Office of Legal Counsel, and a complete list of all the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/drug-cartels\/\">drug cartels<\/a> that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations with whom the administration has said are in an armed conflict with the United States.<\/p>\n<p>They sent the first letter on Sept. 23 and the second on Oct. 6. The committee said on Friday that none of the requested documents had been submitted yet.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration is far from the only one to press its limits on military operations without congressional approval. President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ronald-reagan\/\">Ronald Regan&rsquo;s<\/a> deployment of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.everycrsreport.com\/reports\/RL30352.html#_Toc321725264\">troops to El Salvador<\/a> in 1981, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/warpowers.lawandsecurity.org\/findingsandanalysis\/\">bombing of Kosovo<\/a> under former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\">Bill Clinton<\/a>, and the NATO bombing campaign <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/what-exactly-is-the-war-powers-act-and-is-obama-really-violating-it\">in Libya<\/a> under former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\">Barack Obama<\/a> all challenged the resolution.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3866084\/pete-hegseth-us-boat-strikes-eastern-pacific-death-toll-more-than-50\/\">NEW US BOAT STRIKES IN EASTERN PACIFIC RAISES DEATH TOLL TO MORE THAN 50<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. military has a significant build up of thousands of troops in the Caribbean to aid in these counter-narcotic operations. More troops are on their way to the region, further indicating the administration does not plan to conclude these operations at the end of the 60-day window.<\/p>\n<p>Trump administration officials have ratcheted up the pressure on Venezuelan leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\">Nicol&aacute;s Maduro<\/a>, whom the U.S. considers to be a drug kingpin and an illegitimate leader. The president has publicly raised the possibility that the U.S. military could begin going after targets on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\/\">Venezuelan<\/a> soil, which would be a significant escalation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump admin says Caribbean strikes don&#8217;t trigger War Powers law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2671,"featured_media":2506324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Drug-boat-strike.png?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[63496,36586,66439,32640,66438],"class_list":["post-2506323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-boat-strikes","tag-government-policy","tag-military-regulation","tag-trump-administration","tag-war-powers-act"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Drug-boat-strike.png?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2506323"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2506327,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506323\/revisions\/2506327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2506324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2506323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2506323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2506323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}