Democrats Excluded From GOP-Only Strikes Briefing

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats led by Sen. Mark Warner said they were excluded from a classified White House briefing that briefed only Senate Republicans on a string of U.S. strikes the administration says targeted vessels smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific. Warner called the partisan briefing “indefensible and dangerous,” demanded the same briefing and the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion reportedly shown to Republicans, and warned that withholding legal justification undermines congressional war‑powers oversight. Several Republicans privately criticized the exclusion and urged bipartisan briefings, while House members who received a separate session complained lawyers were not present and officials could not answer legal questions. The administration has framed the operations as part of a directive to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, but Democrats and other lawmakers continue to press for evidence that the targets were drug traffickers and for access to legal memos and target information. The dispute has heightened regional tensions and intensified bipartisan concern about executive unilateralism and the need for congressional oversight.