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Congressman Rich McCormick told Greta Van Susteren on The Record that lawmakers will be given a classified briefing to explain why a second strike on a Venezuelan narco-boat was necessary, and he urged skeptics to wait until they’ve seen the intel before rushing to judgment. McCormick, a Marine veteran on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, insisted these operations are driven by real, on-the-ground intelligence and careful verification.
The controversy centers on reports that a follow-up strike on September 2 targeted survivors of an initial engagement, a detail that has inflamed critics and legal experts who argue attacking incapacitated people is unlawful. The White House has defended the operation as lawful self-defense and says commanders acted within their authority amid a sustained campaign against narco-terror networks.
There’s also an important chain-of-command question: the administration says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized Admiral Frank Bradley to conduct kinetic strikes and that Bradley made the on-scene decision to finish the mission. These are not trivial bureaucratic niceties — they matter for both legal accountability and for ensuring commanders in theater have the discretion to protect American lives and stop drugs headed for our streets.
From a conservative, pro-national-security standpoint, McCormick is right to defend classified briefings for members of Congress; the intelligence that validates these strikes cannot be aired in prime time without jeopardizing sources, methods, and future operations. Americans deserve both results and responsible oversight — that means sensitive details go to cleared lawmakers, not the New York tabloids.
Make no mistake: the administration’s campaign has been framed as a fight to eradicate the flow of fentanyl and cartels’ maritime networks, and this is about saving American lives. If hard intelligence showed these boats were ferrying lethal quantities of narcotics and serving as extensions of narco-terror groups, then commanders had a duty to act decisively to protect our citizens and law enforcement back home.
Meanwhile, partisan politicians and headline-hungry pundits want a running commentary instead of responsible oversight, calling for public disclosures that would only help our enemies. If Senate leaders demand classified briefings — as some have — fine; let them come and be briefed, but the answer to grandstanding is procedure and evidence, not virtue-signaling.
Hardworking Americans know we are under assault from drug cartels and corrupt regimes that traffic poison into our towns, and they expect their government to act with strength and secrecy when necessary. Congress should demand the classified briefings McCormick supports, hold accountable any unlawful actions found by sober review, and above all empower our military to finish the job of protecting the homeland.
