Congressional Republicans are widely supporting President Donald Trump’s strikes against ISIS in Nigeria, with many who had recently been on a delegation to the foreign country praising the president for protecting Christians.
Trump ordered strikes on Christmas Day against the Islamic State group’s terrorists in northwest Nigeria, claiming ISIS “terrorist scum” were killing Christians. The strike came after the president declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” leading several House lawmakers to travel on a bipartisan delegation to the West African country to examine anti-Christian violence and persecution.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) and Riley Moore (R-WV), who helped lead the delegation, praised the president’s actions in a statement Friday, saying “red lines are kept under President Trump.”
“Nigeria is the most dangerous place on Earth to follow Christ, and faith and humanity must be protected,” the lawmakers wrote. “Islamic terrorists will not overrule national security, religious freedom, and the right to worship. We were on the ground – we heard and saw firsthand of the failures to stop extremism and systemic violence against innocent people.”
“These strikes send a clear and unmistakable message: America will stand with persecuted believers, confront evil, and hold terrorists accountable,” the Republicans continued.
Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a similar statement of support in a post to X, saying ISIS is “now the hunted” under Trump’s leadership.
“America stands firmly with our partners in eliminating the TERRORISTS who have targeted innocent Christians for extermination,” the committee said.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who sits on the Armed Services Committee, commended Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth in a post to X “for these strikes against bloodthirsty ISIS savages who are not only persecuting Christians, but also have killed many Americans.”
Trump’s Christmas Day strikes have not drawn the same level of criticism as his strikes against alleged drug boats from Venezuela. Democrats have stayed mostly silent on the strikes against ISIS operatives, while centrist Republicans, who have been critical of the president’s recent use of executive authority when it comes to foreign nations, have supported the action.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to Islamist terrorists conducting genocide against Christians in Nigeria and nearby area,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) wrote on X. “This military action is right. To intervene saves innocent lives. We praise our military for working around the clock to include Christmas.”
Bacon is among several Republicans who have been skeptical of the Trump administration’s use of tariffs against foreign countries and, most recently, the aggressive targeting of Venezuelan speedboats suspected of smuggling drugs. The U.S. military has conducted strikes on nearly 30 vessels that the Pentagon claims have been carrying drugs, but no evidence has been provided.
Lawmakers have largely taken stances along party lines when it comes to the actions in Venezuela, with Democrats calling for additional oversight of the operations and Republicans defending the Pentagon’s decisions. However, the GOP has split on whether there should be an escalation of U.S. involvement in Venezuela to oust President Nicolás Maduro — especially after the president and GOP lawmakers campaigned on ending “forever wars.”
GOP lawmakers appear ready to move on from the vessel attacks, with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) telling the Associated Press that his investigation into the Sept. 2 boat strike is over.
TUG-OF-WAR: TRUMP’S ESCALATION AGAINST VENEZUELA SPLITS REPUBLICANS
House Republicans also rejected a pair of Democratic-led resolutions last week to put a check on Trump’s powers to use force against Venezuela. The legislation would require the president to seek authorization from Congress before continuing the attacks on drug cartels and alleged drug-carrying vessels. They were the first votes the House had taken related to the president’s military use in Central and South America.
Even if the bills had passed in the House, most Senate Republicans had rejected similar resolutions in their chamber, and Trump is likely to veto anything that seeks to check his executive powers.