Sen. Ruben Gallego says Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug boats are 'murder'

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said on “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump’s decisions to strike alleged drug boats in the Caribbean were “murder.”

Asked whether he believed that the strikes were consistent with international law, Gallego said, “No, it’s murder.”

“It’s very simple,” Gallego continued. “If this president feels that they’re doing something illegally, then he should be using the Coast Guard. If there’s an act of war, then you use our military, and then you come and talk to us first. But this is murder.”

Gallego’s comments come as the U.S. has said it conducted 10 strikes on alleged drug boats since September, killing dozens of people. Two of the strikes were in the eastern Pacific, and eight strikes were in the Caribbean Sea. NBC News has not independently confirmed whether the boats were carrying drugs.

NBC News has also previously reported that Democrats and Republicans in Congress have grown concerned over a lack of information about the strikes. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has slammed the strikes, saying last week on “Meet the Press” that the strikes “go against all of our tradition.” Earlier in October, the Senate voted down a resolution that would have required the administration to seek congressional approval before further strikes.

Trump has said that he did not “think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war.”

“I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” he added last week. “We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”

Late last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean Sea, nearly doubling the level of U.S. troops in the area to support Trump’s push against alleged drug activity.

Gallego pushed back, pointing to the impact of the strikes on foreign relations and U.S. troops.

“It’s very dangerous what he’s doing both to our international relations, to our friends down in South America, and to these men and women that have to make these calls for a president who has zero understanding about the responsibility someone has when it comes to having to make life and death decisions,” Gallego said. “It’s disgusting what he’s doing.”

Gallego also defended the Democrats’ strategy toward the government shutdown, saying their “focus right now is to keep costs low.” Democrats have been pushing for negotiations over Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which will raise health care premiums.

Asked how long Democrats were prepared to continue the fight, Gallego said, “I’m not looking at the timetable. I’m looking at everyone’s personal pocketbook right now.”

Gallego is one of the few senators elected in a state that Trump won in 2024. He has previously not closed the door on a presidential bid. Asked by NBC News in March whether running for president had crossed his mind, Gallego said, “F-----g of course. I’m an elected official. It crosses my mind. Am I thinking about it right now? Absolutely not.”

He echoed those comments on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” not ruling out a bid.

“I was just telling you earlier, first I got to take care of these three kids and and deal with getting us through 2026, bringing back inflation down, making sure that 24 million Americans do not have their insurance rates doubled starting Nov. 1, and then maybe, maybe all after that, I’ll start thinking about something like that,” he told moderator Kristen Welker.

His comments come after former Vice President Kamala Harris said in a Saturday BBC interview that she could “possibly” be president someday. Her comments came after she said that her nieces would see a female president in their lifetimes. Asked whether it could be her, Harris said, “possibly,” adding, “I am not done.”

Asked whether he would encourage Harris to run again, Gallego said he “wouldn’t rule it out” but would want to see her policy positions first.

“I thought she was a strong candidate in 2024,” he said when asked whether she would be a strong 2028 candidate. “I think there’s a lot of strong candidates in 2028. I think she would be a strong candidate also in 2028, and that’s going to be left up to the primary voter to decide.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com