Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington is urging Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring the House back to session. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"President Trump and his Administration continue to fail to answer pressing questions regarding the President’s orders to carry out lethal U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea," Smith said in a Monday statement.
"They have failed to demonstrate the legality of these strikes, provide transparency on the process used, or even a list of cartels that have been designated as terrorist organizations," Smith said. "We have also yet to see any evidence to support the President’s unilateral determinations that these vessels or their activities posed imminent threats to the United States of America that warranted military force rather than law enforcement-led interdiction."
The Trump administration has adopted an aggressive approach to combat the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.
Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 alerting them that the U.S. is engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug smugglers, and the U.S. military has conducted at least seven strikes against vessels off the coast of Venezuela.
President Donald Trump directed a deadly strike on a suspected drug-running boat, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Oct. 3. 2025. (SecWar/X)
Meanwhile, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose area of operations includes the Caribbean waters where the strikes against the alleged drug boats have been conducted, announced Thursday he is retiring by the end of 2025.
Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, who became the commander of SOUTHCOM in November 2024, said that he will retire from the Navy in December in a highly unusual move. No reason for his abrupt exit was provided, and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
However, the New York Times reported Thursday that Holsey had raised concerns and questions about the strikes against the alleged drug boats.
"Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil," Smith said. "I have also never seen such a staggering lack of transparency on behalf of an Administration and the Department to meaningfully inform Congress on the use of lethal military force."
"It is time for House Republicans to return to the Capitol and negotiate with Democrats so that we can all get back to doing our jobs for the sake of our national security and national defense," Smith said.
The House has been out of session since September, and, since then, the government has entered a partial shutdown due to a lapse in funding.
