By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Some congressional Republicans expressed concern about U.S. military actions off Venezuela’s coast and joined Democrats in pledging to look into multiple strikes on one boat, although there was no word on Monday of any briefings or hearings.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Monday confirmed there had been two strikes on one boat in early September, saying they were within the law and authorized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, days after some members of Congress said the second strike to kill survivors might have been illegal.
The boat strikes are the second issue in one week to trigger objections from Republicans, who have otherwise strongly supported virtually all of President Donald Trump’s policy initiatives since his second term began in January.
Last week, several Republican lawmakers harshly criticized the White House over its handling of a proposed Ukraine peace plan they said favors Russia.
The latest concerns came after the Washington Post reported on Friday that Hegseth “gave a spoken directive” to kill everyone on board one of the vessels.
HEGSETH HAD DENIED ORDERING SECOND STRIKE
Hegseth had vehemently denied that he ordered a second strike. He called such reports “fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory” on social media. Trump said he would look into the matter, but he believed Hegseth “100%” when he said he had not ordered one.
The two Republican-led congressional committees that oversee the Pentagon said they would look into the reports. On Friday, Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee’s top Democrat, said they would be conducting “vigorous oversight.”
Their counterparts on the House of Representatives Armed Services panel, Republican Chairman Mike Rogers of Alabama and ranking Democrat Adam Smith of Washington, said they took the reports seriously and were taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting.
Leavitt told a White House briefing that Hegseth had spoken to some members of Congress “who might have been concerned” during the weekend.
On Monday, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said they anticipated bipartisan examinations of the incident. “I’m glad that the relevant committee of jurisdiction, the oversight committee, Armed Services, is going to examine those facts. We’ll see where they lead,” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters.
AN ILLEGAL ACT?
Some Republicans had joined Democrats in saying that, if the allegation were true, the second strike could be illegal.
“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Representative Mike Turner of Ohio, a former Intelligence Committee chairman, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky noted on social media that, “It is not permitted, under the laws and customs of honorable warfare, to order that no quarter be given – to apply lethal force to those who surrender or who are injured, shipwrecked, or otherwise unable to fight.”
Paul co-sponsored legislation with Democrats that would have reined in Trump’s campaign against Venezuela, but was blocked by members of his own party.
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii suggested on social media that Hegseth should testify in December, before Congress passes the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a sweeping annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon.
Democrats and a few Republicans had questioned the policy of striking what could be fishing vessels, killing all or most of those on board, rather than stopping them and questioning any passengers.
U.S. troops have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people as Trump escalates a military buildup against President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
In November, Senate Republicans blocked a resolutionthat would have prevented Trump from attacking Venezuelan territory without congressional authorization. Only two of Trump’s Republicans joined Democrats in backing the measure, in a show of the party’s support for the military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
In October, Senate Republicans blocked a resolution that would have stopped the boat strikes.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and David Morgan; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)
Comments