Himes Warns Trump's Drug-Boat Strikes Set Precedent

Rep. Jim Himes condemned the Trump administration’s recent military strikes on suspected drug‑smuggling/narco‑terrorist vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, calling the attacks illegal and criticizing the White House for not providing a legal justification to Congress. He told MSNBC Republicans and MAGA supporters who applaud such unchecked lethal authority should “imagine who gets killed” if a future Democratic president exercised the same power. Republicans — notably Sen. Lindsey Graham — defended broad presidential authority and public support for the operations, while critics including Sen. Rand Paul, Atlantic writer Tom Nichols, and some Latin American leaders described the strikes as unlawful or unconstrained. Administration officials have framed the operations as counter‑narco‑terrorism. Himes and other critics urged rethinking U.S. naval missions in the region and warned normalizing such lethal actions would set a dangerous precedent for future administrations.