The Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's government. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images)
The White House confirmed that the U.S. carried out two attacks — one initial hit on the boat and a follow-up strike that killed two remaining survivors. Democrats have accused the GOP administration of committing a possible war crime.
Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who said the second strike was carried out on orders from U.S. Navy Admiral Frank M. Bradley, have emphatically defended the decision.
"Obviously, if you're not there, it's kind of hard to second-guess those decisions," Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., said in pushing back on the criticism. "I think the use of our armed forces … to help deal with the flood of human trafficking and drug trafficking that's coming out of Venezuela, we need to do all we can to help stop."
He said, however, that Trump would have to seek congressional approval before any escalation of force against Venezuela — something GOP lawmakers were torn over.
"Certain things are obviously within the executive authorities, but also I think there's things under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 through 13 that are war powers of Congress," said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.
"There are certain things that he does have the ability to do. But we don't know what the president's plan is at this point, and he's not forecasting it so others know. So I think we're getting ahead of ourselves slightly … when we don’t know what the actual plan is."
The second kinetic strike targets an alleged Venezuelan cartel. (Trump/Truth Social)
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Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said Trump would need to seek congressional approval if he "goes to war" but argued "it currently is not a war."
"I mean, they declared war on us when they dumped that junk onto our streets. So the drug dealers, I say, send them all to hell. I'm tired of seeing families that I know lose loved ones to drug abuse," he said.
And Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., also signaled he would stick by whatever Trump decided on Venezuela.
"It's already designated a foreign terrorist organization. [Maduro is] the head of a foreign terrorist organization. He's the illegitimate president or leader of Venezuela," he said. "That organization has killed tens of thousands of Americans. And so I will support the actions that the president is taking in order to get Maduro to leave and install a legitimate government and bring freedom to the people of Venezuela."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-back-trumps-venezuela-moves-now-escalation-uncertainty-looms