House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) on Monday called for an immediate hearing into President Donald Trump’s authorization of lethal U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, citing unanswered questions about their legality, oversight, and the recent early retirement of U.S. Southern Command Commander Admiral Alvin Holsey.
Smith released a formal statement urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to reconvene the House to end the ongoing government shutdown and permit congressional oversight of the Trump administration’s counter-narcotics campaign. “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 Caribbea