WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution, and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today led every Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat in demanding answers from the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the legality of military actions ordered by President Trump that have already killed 57 individuals in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. In their letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Senators highlight how the President’s recent strikes may violate an Executive Order, various statutes of U.S. law, and the United States Code of Military Justice. The Senators also slammed the Trump Administration for undermining bipartisan efforts to curb drug trafficking, which has had devastating impacts on American families and communities.
“Summarily killing criminal suspects is prohibited under domestic and international law in both peacetime and wartime. These recent strikes raise numerous questions about whether the Department provided adequate legal guidance to those involved in ordering, planning, and carrying out the killings,” wrote the Senators. “In accordance with the Committee’s constitutional oversight responsibilities, we ask that Committee members and staff be briefed on and afforded the opportunity to review any legal analysis produced by your Department.”
The Senators slammed Trump’s DOJ for taking counterproductive steps to stem the drug epidemic, writing: “For example, you have diverted thousands of Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal law-enforcement agents from their critical missions to carry out the President’s immigration agenda. You inexplicably shut down the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, which has dismantled thousands of criminal organizations. You have unilaterally terminated hundreds of grants that provide critical funding to state and local law enforcement. The Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget would slash the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program by more than a third, from about $298 million to $196 million. Not surprisingly, on your watch federal drug prosecutions have dropped to the lowest level in decades.”
The Senators concluded: Given the gravity of the President’s claimed authority to lethally target alleged criminals he claims to be at war with, we request that you schedule a briefing prior to November 3, 2025, for members and staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Department’s legal analysis of these strikes, which can be done in an appropriately classified setting.”
The Senators requested answers to the following questions by November 7, 2025:
- What role did you, the Office of Legal Counsel, or any other component of the Department of Justice play in reviewing the legality of these killings either prior to or following the killings?
- To which executive branch departments and/or agencies did you or anyone else in the Department provide formal or informal legal opinions, including any memos prepared by OLC on the legality of these strikes?
- Were you or anyone else at the Department of Justice asked or directed to provide a legal justification for the killings by the President, Secretary of Defense, or anyone else?
- Did the Department conduct an analysis of the risk of putting U.S. personnel in legal jeopardy, including under 18 U.S.C. § 1111, 10 U.S.C. § 918, and Executive Order 12333, prior to the action?
- What steps has the Department taken or what analysis has the Department conducted, either prior to or since these killings, to assess whether any U.S. laws or provisions of international law applicable to the United States have been violated, including whether any violations of U.S. criminal law have occurred?
- Do you know whether the Executive Branch took steps to verify whether or not the persons killed in the strike were United States citizens, and, if so, what additional legal protections were applicable?
The letter was led by Senator Welch and cosigned by every Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat, including Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Read and download the Senators’ full letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
###