Using Military Inside the U.S. — Week of Dec 1, 2025

During the week of December 1, 2025, two congressional speeches described alarming patterns of government force being used against people with limited oversight or accountability. In a Senate floor speech, remarks during defense spending debate described military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September that have reportedly killed at least 83 people, conducted without congressional approval. Twenty-six senators wrote to the administration requesting legal justification and reportedly received no response for over two months. The speech also referenced an alleged "kill everybody" order from the Secretary of Defense—a claim based on secondhand accounts that has not been independently verified. Separately, in a House floor speech, Representative Delia Ramirez described DHS immigration raids in Chicago involving chemical agents used 49 times since October 1, the shooting of a civilian whose case was then dropped by federal prosecutors, and alleged violations of court orders.

This might matter because the use of military and paramilitary force without meaningful congressional oversight could weaken the legal safeguards—including the Constitution's war powers provisions—that exist to prevent any president from using armed force without checks from elected representatives. When Congress asks for legal justification and receives no answer, the oversight process that holds executive power in check may be breaking down.

There are important reasons to weigh these claims carefully before drawing conclusions. Both speeches come from opposition lawmakers during a political debate over defense spending, and such speeches are designed to persuade, not to present balanced evidence. The Caribbean strikes may involve counter-narcotics operations conducted under existing legal authorities that the administration believes already authorize such action, rather than unauthorized military operations. The DHS operations involve civilian law enforcement agencies, not military troops, even if the tactics described sound military in nature. That said, some details—like the government dropping its own case against a woman it shot five times, and the documented non-response to 26 senators—are concrete, verifiable facts that lend weight to the broader concerns.

Limitations: This analysis is based on claims in congressional speeches, which are advocacy documents. Key factual assertions, especially the reported casualty figures and the alleged "kill everybody" order, have not been independently verified. Only two documents drove this week's assessment, which limits the statistical reliability of the findings.