The following is the transcript of the interview with Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on October 26, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let’s turn now to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. He joins us from Seneca, South Carolina. Welcome back to Face The Nation. Senator–
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: On Friday, Secretary of Defense Hegseth ordered the deployment of the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, to Latin America. President Trump was asked if he planned to ask Congress for a declaration of war. Listen.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t think we’re necessarily going to call for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill the people who bring drugs into our country, okay? Let’s kill them. You know, they’ll be as good as dead.
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MARGARET BRENNAN: You don’t need an aircraft carrier to attack drug ships. Are ground attacks planned?
SEN. GRAHAM: Yes, I think it’s a real possibility. I think President Trump has made the decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an accused drug trafficker, that it is time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narcoterrorists for too long, and President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he returns from Asia about possible future military operations against Venezuela and Colombia. That’s why there will be a briefing in Congress on a possible expansion from sea to land. I support that idea, but I think it has all the authority it needs. Senator Gallego, on another network, accused President Trump and our military of committing murder by attacking these drug ships. To our men and women in uniform: you are not murdering anyone. You are making America safer by going after a narco-terrorist. You are following legal orders. When President Bush, 41, removed Ortega from Panama, Reagan went to Grenada to deal with the Cuban influence from Grenada in our backyard; He has all the authority in the world. This is not a murder. This protects the United States from being poisoned by narcoterrorists from Venezuela and Colombia.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, there’s a lot of stuff there. But just to clarify the examples you cite, ground troops also participated. You said it was time for Maduro to leave. That sounds a lot like a regime change. Are you talking about troops on the ground?
SEN. GRAHAM: I’ll let the president talk about that. I’m talking about a briefing that would potentially expand military operations from sea to land. It’s time for Maduro to leave. It was time for Ortega to leave. You know, President Trump has vigorously enforced the Monroe Doctrine. So these military assets are moving forward to deal with a country that has blood on its hands when it comes to Americans by flooding our country with drugs from Venezuela and Colombia. So I hope Maduro leaves peacefully, but I don’t think he will stay much longer. Do I think President Trump is tired of Venezuela being used as a platform to poison the United States?
MARGARET BRENNAN Well, there’s a lot there, sir, but you cited criticism from a Democratic senator. He is not the only one. Some of his Republican colleagues have been uncomfortable with how little information has been shared with Congress. Listen:
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SEN. RAND PAUL: If you want a total war in which we kill anyone who is in the country of Venezuela or who leaves, you have to have a declaration of war. It is something that is not pretty, very expensive, and I am not in favor of declaring war on Venezuela, but Congress should vote. And the president should not do this alone.
SEN. TODD YOUNG: If this were happening with this level of knowledge under the Biden administration, I would be apoplectic.
[SOUND ON TAPE ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Todd Young also criticized this, what exactly is the endgame? Since you are talking about a regime change in Venezuela, the president says that it is about drug trafficking ships.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yes. Well, I think the ultimate goal is to ensure that Venezuela and Colombia can’t be used to poison the United States, that the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro can no longer threaten our country and send drugs to kill Americans. As for Rand Paul, I fundamentally disagree with his approach. We did not have a declaration to enter Panama. Bush 41 went to Panama to replace the leaders there, because the Panamanian leaders, the Panamanian leaders, were working with the drug cartels to threaten our country. Reagan did not have a congressionally authorized declaration of war to deal with Cuban influence. So with this idea, Rand Paul, I fundamentally disagree. To other senators, you deserve more information and you are going to get more information, but it is not necessary for Congress to declare war before the commander in chief can use force. Panama and Grenada are two examples in our backyard, where Republican presidents chose to persecute countries and leaders that threatened our people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But it seems like there were a number of issues here. I know that you personally worked as a judge advocate in the Air Force. We looked at the JAG manual: Preventive self-defense used to counter non-imminent threats is illegal under international law. So if we are not at war and these alleged criminals do not pose a threat of imminent violence, isn’t it potentially a war crime to kill the people on these ships and then eliminate a leader?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, not at all. I don’t know which man you’re referring to, but I know what 41-year-old President Bush did. He knocked down Ortega [sic]the leader of Panama, because he was involved in drug trafficking that threatens our country. Venezuela is now partnering with Hezbollah. Hezbollah is running out of money because Iran is weak.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s not new.
SEN. GRAHAM: Association with drug cartels in Venezuela. No, I should have stopped. This is what’s new. You have a commander in chief who is not going to put up with this garbage. We are not going to stand by and watch ships full of drugs arrive in our country. We’ll blow them up and kill the people who want to poison America, and now I think we’re going to expand operations into the country. So please be clear about what I’m saying today. President Donald Trump views Venezuela and Colombia as direct threats to our country, because they host narcoterrorist organizations. Venezuela’s leader is a drug trafficker accused in US courts. So yes, the game is changing when it comes to drug traffickers and drug cartels. We will use military force as we have in the past to protect our country. That’s the new game we’re playing, and I’m glad we’re playing that game, and if I were Maduro, I’d find a way to leave before the temperature drops.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But is cocaine trafficking an armed attack against the United States? Is that what you’re comparing it to?
SEN. GRAHAM: I’m saying there are a lot of laws under Article Two. The President’s powers are designed to protect our countries from internal and external threats. Was it illegal for Bush to remove Ortega from Panama? Was it illegal for Reagan to go to Grenada to stop Cuban influence from building this big, long runway? There is a lot of precedent here for doing what you are doing. But the game has changed. The game has changed when it comes to drug trafficking, drug trafficking organizations. We’re going to get you out.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you referenced something earlier. I’m sorry. I want to go back to what you said to the men and women of the military who are carrying out legal orders. Secretary Hegseth fired the Air Force’s top uniformed attorneys, you know, the Navy and the Army, because he called them obstacles to orders given by a commander in chief. There have also been other departures. This raises concerns that commanders are not receiving adequate legal advice. That’s why you just said that phrase, to reassure them.
SEN. GRAHAM: That’s garbage, that’s absolute garbage.
(crosstalk)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Who said that Hegseth?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, no. What I’m saying is the theory that President Trump is doing something here illegally, dealing with a country run by an accused drug trafficker. It’s the same as Panama. There are better circumstances to go to Venezuela than Panama. There are better arguments for dealing with Colombia than with Granada. Yes, I’ve been doing this my entire adult life. I have all the confidence in the world that President Trump has the legal authority, but more importantly, he is doing the right thing. More Americans have died from cocaine and fentanyl poisoning than any terrorist group in the world. I’m very glad that we now have a president who is going to use the full strength of the American people, the power of the United States, to protect us from narcoterrorist states and drug organizations. Keep it up, Mr. President, we are not committing murder. We are protecting our nation from people who want to poison us.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, obviously there are buyers on the other side, which is why the cartels are selling, right?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, yeah, we’ll take care of both. We will take care of both.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I want to go back to – when we talk about legal orders here, I myself spoke to a former senior commander who said he would want that in writing because of concerns that this is going to be questionable in the future.
SEN. GRAHAM: What in writing?
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve heard the orders to conduct operations. You’ve already heard Democratic lawmakers, including on this show, say they’re concerned about future prosecutions of officers.
SEN. GRAHAM: We will act on your concerns. Why not…? Why not…? Well, if you have concerns, here’s what we can do as members of Congress. We can cut funding for military operations we don’t like. So if you, as a Democrat or Republican, are concerned, why don’t you introduce legislation to cut off all funding to the military when it comes to attacking anti-drug votes and going after narcoterrorist states through the military? You can do that. Go ahead and do it. I will vote no. I believe you have all the authority in the world under Article Two and international law to ensure that countries like Venezuela cannot be staging areas for infiltrating drugs into our country. It’s not a, I think it has all the legal authority in the world. I am very happy that you are doing this and, Mr. President, keep it up.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we look forward to hearing those justifications when they are shared with Congress. You made the news there, senator. Thank you for your time today. We’ll be back in a moment.