[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SUPPORTING THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 17, 2025

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, prior to the Trump Administration, the 
United States followed a policy of interdiction to combat drug 
trafficking in the Caribbean. Over the past decade, that approach led 
to a steady decline in Venezuela's role as a major drug transit route. 
It relied on stopping vessels, inspecting cargo, and arresting suspects 
where evidence existed. This Administration has shamefully abandoned 
that lawful and effective approach in favor of bombing boats and 
committing extrajudicial killings at sea. There is no operational 
reason for abandoning interdiction, which worked, respected the rule of 
law, and avoided the use of lethal force where arrest and prosecution 
were possible.
  After decades of forever wars, the American people are sick and tired 
of being dragged into needless armed conflicts. Despite that, President 
Trump escalated his reckless campaign against Venezuela even further 
last night, pushing the Nation closer to a war the American people do 
not want.
  For weeks, the Administration has carried out lethal strikes on small 
boats in Venezuelan waters, killing dozens of people without any 
authorization from Congress. These killings occurred without due 
process and without any explanation for why the vessels could not have 
been stopped, inspected, and the individuals on board arrested and 
prosecuted. Most disturbing of all, the Administration carried out a 
so-called ``double-tap'' strike, deliberately targeting wounded 
survivors after an initial attack. That conduct is indefensible and 
inconsistent with the rule of law and the values the United States 
claims to uphold.
  The President is also asking the American people to accept a 
justification that does not withstand scrutiny. The Administration 
claims these killings are about stopping drugs, but there is no 
credible evidence that Venezuela is a significant source of fentanyl 
entering the United States. The fentanyl crisis is driven 
overwhelmingly by synthetic opioids manufactured elsewhere and smuggled 
through established land routes, not by small boats off the Venezuelan 
coast. And Trump's professed concern about drug trafficking rings 
hollow when he issued a pardon to the former president of Honduras 
after a U.S. jury convicted him of running a violent drug-trafficking 
conspiracy to move massive quantities of cocaine toward the United 
States. If Trump were serious about stopping drugs and not using 
counternarcotics as a pretext for military escalation and regime 
change, he would not be letting convicted traffickers walk free while 
eyeing Venezuela's vast oil resources.
  To this day, the Administration has not provided Congress with a 
public legal justification for these killings, nor has it explained the 
legal authority it claims to rely on. Congress and the American people 
deserve to see the legal rationale for the use of lethal force carried 
out in their name.
  History teaches that unlawful uses of force cannot be excused by 
secrecy or by claims of simply following orders. Responsibility does 
not vanish up and down the chain of command when the law is violated. 
As international tribunals have long made clear, including at 
Nuremberg, individuals are responsible for war crimes and unlawful 
killings even when acting under superior orders. That principle must 
apply here as well. A future Administration committed to the rule of 
law will have a responsibility to investigate these actions fully and 
hold accountable those responsible for unlawful killings carried out in 
the name of the United States.
  The Constitution is clear: the power to authorize war belongs to 
Congress, and Congress alone. No President gets a blank check to wage 
war by decree. That is why today, I proudly voted for two War Powers 
resolutions to block further escalation and reassert Congress's 
constitutional authority. It is unfortunate that Democrats had to force 
these votes under the War Powers Resolution just to ensure Congress 
carries out its duties, despite Speaker Johnson's best efforts to keep 
them off the House floor and avoid accountability.
  The American people do not want another needless war, and I refuse to 
let our service members be put in harm's way for an escalation that 
Congress never approved.

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