{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-statement-on-trump-declaring-armed-conflict-in-the-caribbean", "Reed Statement on Trump Declaring Armed Conflict in the Caribbean", "2025-10-03", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", "jackreed", "https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to conduct a lethal strike on a boat in the Caribbean for the fourth time in a month, bringing the total number of individuals killed to 21. This follows his unilateral declaration that the United States is in an \u201carmed conflict\u201d with unnamed \u201cnon-state armed groups\u201d in Central and South America, and his deployment of thousands of U.S. forces, ships, and aircraft to fight them \u2013 without Congressional authorization.\n\nIn response, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:\n\n\u201cEvery American should be alarmed that the President believes he can wage secret wars against anyone he chooses. Congress alone has the constitutional power to decide when America goes to war. The President cannot launch military campaigns and invent legal cover after the fact.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: Drug cartels are reprehensible and have caused immense suffering in our communities. U.S. law enforcement must be fully equipped and resourced to dismantle them.\n\n\u201cBut the Trump Administration has offered no credible legal justification, evidence, or intelligence for these Caribbean strikes. By the President\u2019s own words, the U.S. military is in armed conflict with undefined enemies he labels \u2018unlawful combatants,\u2019 while deploying thousands of troops and ships, all without informing Congress or the public.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s declaration of \u2018armed conflict\u2019 is a dangerous overreach of executive power. If one man alone decides when and where America fights, we abandon the checks and balances that safeguard our democracy.\n\n\u201cFor decades, Republicans and Democrats alike have rightly criticized presidents for engaging in armed conflicts without Congressional approval. The Administration must immediately testify before Congress and the American people about this reckless campaign.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-statement-on-trump-declaring-armed-conflict-in-the-caribbean"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4859588593244553, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}