Republicans in the Senate defeated Wednesday a war powers resolution that would have restricted the Trump administration’s power to conduct strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean. The resolution was put forward by Senate Democrats, joined by the Republican Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

As the Trump administration has saturated the Caribbean with nearly unprecedented naval force to interdict and destroy drug trafficking in the region, some Senators have expressed concern over the legality of the strikes—Congress has not explicitly authorized any use of military force against drug cartels. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that the government’s actions were “plainly unconstitutional.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration, arguing that “these are targeted strikes against imminent threats against the United States” and that the president does not need Congress’s explicit approval.

The resolution would have prohibited the government from conducting military strikes against “any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities.” It was defeated 48–51 in a mostly party-line vote.

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