Some congressional Republicans argue that President Donald Trump is under far more scrutiny for his strikes in the Caribbean Sea than former President Barack Obama ever faced for his usage of drones in the Middle East. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage)
"We're losing sight of the bigger picture here, of the war on drugs against America," Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital. "There are more American lives lost because of illegal drugs than in the last seven years, than WWI, WWII, in Vietnam combined."
Others, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich argued that a precedent for strikes was set under Obama, and that the former president didn’t receive near the level of scrutiny that Trump is.
"If the House and Senate Armed Services Committees want to investigate the death of two drug cartel members off Venezuela, maybe they could begin with a roll-call of the innocent civilians, including women and children, killed by President Obama’s orders and a review of the rules of engagement the Obama administration followed," Gingrich said on X. "I have no doubt Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will compare very favorably with the Obama record."
TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING?
Sen. Thom Tillis speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Dirksen building in Washington, June 25, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., scoffed at the connection to the administrations and contended that Trump has had "virtually no scrutiny for pardoning of convicted criminals."
"There had been purely, starting with President Bush, a major bipartisan consensus that the terrorists who led to 9/11 needed to be eradicated that was explained to the public clearly," he told Fox News Digital. "We’ve had no such explanation about what's happening in the Caribbean."
Broadly, Senate Republicans aren’t raising much of a stink about Trump’s strikes in the Caribbean, with many viewing it as a means to an end to stymieing the flow of drugs into the country.
"What happened is a bunch of bad guys with a bunch of drugs didn't make it to America," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. "That’s the long and short of it."
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
But others believe that investigations into the details of what exactly happened in the double-tap strike are warranted, as they should have been during Obama’s tenure in office.
"Well, I'll take it at face value," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. "Maybe there wasn't, but there should have been. What else? You know, it's like, because we failed to have scrutiny in that case, it doesn't justify failing to have scrutiny in this case."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-says-trump-facing-tougher-scrutiny-caribbean-strikes-than-obama-did-drone-program