{"id":13580,"date":"2025-11-06T09:42:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T01:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13580"},"modified":"2025-11-06T09:42:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T01:42:47","slug":"rubio-hegseth-boat-strike-briefing-doesnt-quell-democrats-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13580","title":{"rendered":"Rubio, Hegseth boat strike briefing doesn\u2019t quell Democrats\u2019 concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The latest briefing on the U.S. military\u2019s strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, did not quell the concerns of some Democrats in attendance, who are demanding more information about the operations that have killed more than 60 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wednesday classified briefing in the Senate was attended by the \u201cGang of 12,\u201d including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), along with top lawmakers on Armed Services and Intelligence committees in both chambers. But it did not assuage concerns from Democrats who have been asking for additional documents and information about the strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we heard isn\u2019t enough. We need a lot more answers,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after the briefing, adding that the entire Senate should receive one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) echoed his demand for more information at a press conference, but declined to elaborate when pressed on what details were left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he went after GOP leaders for keeping the House out of session during the government shutdown, which has precluded the possibility of a briefing for the entire Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump Gathers GOP Senators At White House To AGAIN Call For END Of Filibuster | TRENDING<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a full congressional briefing. One of the reasons why we haven\u2019t had one is because Mike Johnson and House Republicans have literally been on a taxpayer-funded vacation for the last six weeks,\u201d Jeffries told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the administration has kept him and other members \u201cfully advised\u201d on the strikes, adding that he is \u201cfully satisfied\u201d with the actions of the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThey\u2019ve got good legal justification for what they\u2019re doing. The president really ought to be congratulated for saving the lives of young American people. He should be thanked by the many parents who won\u2019t even know that they won\u2019t have to bury kids prematurely. They\u2019re doing good work. They\u2019re doing it lawfully, and I encourage them to keep it up,\u201d Risch, who also sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told The Hill on Wednesday that the administration \u201cwill continue to be forthcoming with the Hill about the President\u2019s efforts to take on the cartels and stop the illegal smuggling of drugs into our homeland, just as he promised on the campaign trail,\u201d adding that today was the administration\u2019s 13th bipartisan briefing since the strikes began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio, Hegseth and other officials who accompanied them stayed in the room for more than 20 minutes after the briefing concluded to answer every question, a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were no outstanding questions by the time the briefing was finished,\u201d the official added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been at least 16 strikes since the military campaign kicked off in early September, with a minimum of 66 people being killed. The latest strike took place on Tuesday, when the U.S. military struck an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing two \u201cnarco-terrorists,\u201d according to Hegseth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Trump said on Wednesday that the number of illegal drugs coming into the U.S. is \u201cway down\u201d and the drop off is particularly apparent regarding those trafficked at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are saying, \u2018No thanks, I don\u2019t think I want to ride in that boat, please,\u2019\u201d the president said while in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strikes have drawn blowback from Democrats and some Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee received a classified briefing on the operations, but they came away unsatisfied with the answers, including the legal rationale the White House is relying on and the way the administration is determining who to target at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this week, the White House said it does not need to ask for Congress\u2019s authorization to continue the strikes since the operations do not rise to the level of \u201chostilities\u201d that would require one and that U.S. service members are not in harm\u2019s way since the attacks are conducted \u201clargely by unmanned aerial vehicles launched from naval vessels in international waters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the briefing on Wednesday, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Commitee, said he does not agree with the legal opinion the administration is citing to conduct the strikes and advocated for hearings to be held on the operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va,), the ranking member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, argued the administration should publicly present evidence that the boats are loaded with drugs and are operated by \u201cbad guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe notion on kinetic strikes without actually interdicting and demonstrating to the American public that these are carrying drugs and the full of bad guys, I think, is a huge mistake and undermines the confidence in the administration\u2019s actions,\u201d Warner told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warner said the legal opinion has been reviewed by the entire Senate and that it does not mention Venezuela. The White House has turned up the pressure against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who the administration officials have characterized as an \u201cillegitemate leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump signaled during his interview with CBS\u2019s \u201c60 Minutes\u201d that Maduro\u2019s days are numbered and the Pentagon has amassed a massive military presence in the U.S. Southern Command region, dispatching warships, fighter jets, spy planes and at least one submarine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warner said the previous administration did not go far enough in opposing Maduro, who was reelected as president last year despite allegations of electoral fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI frankly think the Biden administration didn\u2019t go far enough after the Venezuelan people voted overwhelmingly to get rid of him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he still has questions about the \u201cprecise structure,\u201d but added that lawmakers received a general explanation of the process of how the targets are selected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happens when there\u2019s somebody nearby who may be innocent? These are the things that the DOD is used to thinking about, and we still haven\u2019t gotten into that level of granularity. So again, I\u2019m not too worried that they\u2019re going to take out a fishing boat, because our intelligence community is very, very good, but I\u2019m not confident that we know precisely who are in those boats and why they\u2019re there,\u201d Himes told reporters after the briefing. \u201cAre they U.S. persons, etc. So that\u2019s a level of fidelity we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked if officials indicated during the briefing that the strikes will continue, Himes said they \u201csurely didn\u2019t tell us that they were going to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest briefing on the U.S. military\u2019s strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, did not quell the concerns of some Democrats in attendance, who are demanding more information about the operations that have killed more than 60 people. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3753,1702,1606],"class_list":["post-13580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-briefing","tag-house","tag-senate"],"yoast_head":"\nRubio, Hegseth boat strike briefing doesn\u2019t quell Democrats\u2019 concerns - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13580\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rubio, Hegseth boat strike briefing doesn\u2019t quell Democrats\u2019 concerns - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The latest briefing on the U.S. military\u2019s strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, did not quell the concerns of some Democrats in attendance, who are demanding more information about the operations that have killed more than 60 people. 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