Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) issued a strong statement on Wednesday evening criticizing the Trump administration for conducting a classified Senate briefing on recent U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean while excluding Democratic lawmakers.
“Shutting Democrats out of a briefing on U.S. military strikes and withholding the legal justification for those strikes from half the Senate is indefensible and dangerous,” Warner said. “Decisions about the use of American military force are not campaign strategy sessions, and they are not the private property of one political party. For any administration to treat them that way erodes our national security and flies in the face of Congress’s constitutional obligation to oversee matters of war and peace.”
Warner continued, calling the move a “partisan stunt” and “a slap in the face to Congress’s war powers responsibilities and to the men and women who serve this country.” He warned that the decision “sets a reckless and deeply troubling precedent.”
He urged the administration to immediately share the same classified briefing and Office of Legal Counsel opinion with Democratic senators, noting that Secretary Rubio had personally promised him such access during a recent meeting on Capitol Hill.
“Americans deserve a government that fulfills its constitutional duties and treats decisions about the use of military force with the seriousness they demand,” Warner said.
The controversy stems from a series of U.S. military strikes on suspected narcotics-smuggling boats in the Caribbean that have reportedly caused extensive destruction over recent weeks. The operations mark a significant shift from established U.S. and international law, which historically treated drug-smuggling vessels as civilian law enforcement targets to be intercepted and seized rather than destroyed by force.
Reports indicate that some of the targeted boats lacked the capacity to reach the United States, raising further concerns about the legitimacy and scope of the strikes.
A growing number of legal experts across the political spectrum — including several conservative scholars and even the author of President George W. Bush’s controversial “torture memo” — have warned that these military actions may violate both U.S. and international law. Some have gone as far as suggesting the strikes could amount to war crimes.
Warner’s remarks add to mounting scrutiny over the administration’s handling of the strikes and its transparency with Congress. The senator emphasized that decisions about military force should unite lawmakers in shared oversight rather than divide them along partisan lines.