US EditionHegseth and Rubio Share Classified Details on Boat Strikes with Congressional Leaders
The strikes have killed at least 66 people in 16 attacks targeting drug-smuggling vessels, raising legal and congressional oversight concerns amid growing U.S. military buildup near Venezuela.
- On Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed a bipartisan group of national security lawmakers in a secure Capitol facility on U.S. strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels.
- President Donald Trump approved covert operations last month and followed that with a naval surge including the USS Gerald Ford , which marks 20% of the Navy's deployed warships.
- The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel provided a secret opinion and a 40-page legal opinion explaining the administration says campaign killed at least 66 people in 16 strikes, senators on intelligence and armed services committees said.
- Legal analysts and several lawmakers say the strikes lack congressional authorization and raise legal concerns, while a growing bipartisan group demands transparency and plans votes to block further military action.
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The attack was carried out under the leadership of President Trump, Hegseth said in a social media post
Hegseth and Rubio Share Classified Details on Boat Strikes with Congressional Leaders
Top Trump administration officials briefed a small group of congressional leaders on the growing military campaign to destroy alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the waters off South America, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes.
Hegseth, Rubio Brief Congressional Committees Leaders on Classified Details of Drug Boat Strikes
Congressional committee leaders received classified briefings from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Nov. 5, amid calls for more information from the Trump administration on its military strikes in international waters related to alleged active drug trafficking into the United States. The roughly hour-long briefing in a secure facility in the Capitol received mixed responses. The meeting was open to congressiona…
Associated Press News
Hegseth and Rubio share classified details on boat strikes with congressional leaders
Top Trump administration officials have briefed lawmakers on the growing U.S. campaign to destroy alleged drug-smuggling boats in the waters off South America.
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