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House debate over H.Con.Res.61 centers on strikes in Western Hemisphere and whether cartels are 'terrorists'
Summary
On the House floor Dec. 16, Representative Mr. Mast (the gentleman from Florida) called up H.Con.Res.61 and used his allotted time to argue that transnational cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere constitute terrorist networks and that the president has Article II authority to order limited strikes; debate was opened and 30 minutes each was allocated to Mr. Mast and Mr. Meeks.
The gentleman from Florida, Mr. Mast, called up House Concurrent Resolution 61 on Dec. 16 under the House order of 12/16/2025 and used his time to argue that transnational drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere constitute an imminent threat that may warrant limited executive military action.
Mr. Mast told the chamber, "Right now, we have cartels operating in our backyard. They are kidnapping Americans, extorting families, trafficking women and children, and flooding our towns with fentanyl to maximize death and addiction on American soil." He said those networks were "highly organized, militarized" and compared their tactics to those of Al Qaeda and ISIS.
Why it matters: The concurrent resolution, as read on the floor, would direct the president pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces…
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