President Donald Trump may order land strikes on Venezuela and other parts of South America in pursuit of drug cartels without congressional authority, according to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Graham appeared on CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday and defended Trump’s suggestion last week that land strikes may be the next step after the U.S. military blew up 10 drug boats and submarines in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

“I think that’s a real possibility,” said Graham on the potential for U.S. strikes on land in South America. “I think President Trump has made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long.”

“I support that idea, but I think he has all the authority he needs,” Graham added after noting that Trump is expected to brief Congress on possible military operations in and around South America when he returns from a trip to Asia later this week.

The South Carolina senator cited operations ordered by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. The missions, which took place in Panama and Grenada, are precedents that should set the legal foundation for any land strikes against drug cartels ordered unilaterally by Trump.

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“When President Bush 41 took Ortega out in Panama, Reagan went into Grenada to deal with the Cuban influence from Grenada in our backyard – [Trump] has all the authority in the world,” said Graham. “This is not murder. This is protecting America from being poisoned by narco-terrorists coming from Venezuela and Colombia.”

U.S. land strikes on Venezuela are “a real possibility,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says, telling @margbrennan President Trump plans to brief Congress about potentially expanding the U.S. military operations “from the sea to the land.”

“I support that idea. But I think he has… pic.twitter.com/q7iBG7D0H7

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 26, 2025

Graham’s comments come days after the administration announced the U.S.S. Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group would move to the Caribbean. The Ford is the newest and most technologically advanced carrier in the U.S. fleet, signaling the seriousness with which the White House is approaching its fight against drug cartels and terror networks that are flooding the United States with dangerous and illicit drugs.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the Ford’s latest assignment in a post on X.

The aircraft carrier group “will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” said Parnell in a statement.

During a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy pivoted when asked about Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo.

“I do want to ask you about the Maine Senate race, because earlier this month, you called Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner ‘impressive,’ but since then, obviously a lot about him has come out, including the fact that he had a Totenkopf, which is a skull head — it’s the Nazi emblem for the SS — he had one of those tattooed on his chest,” Tapper stated. “He’s denied that he knew what the tattoo meant until recently, but CNN did find several times he discussed the Totenkopf emblem in recent years and months. Do you still think Platner is impressive?”

Murphy acknowledged the reporting from CNN, then quickly pivoted to discussing Platner’s military service and calling him “a human being who made mistakes.”

“But I’ve also listened to him talk about, I mean, the difficult time that he went through in his life. And frankly, it’s not unfamiliar to a lot of soldiers who came back from service and had a very difficult time readjusting. So he sounds like a human being to me, a human being who made mistakes, recognizes them, and is very open about it,” Murphy said.

Sen. Chris Murphy says he is “interested to hear from” Graham Platner amid controversy over his Nazi-linked tattoo but says Platner sounds like a “human being who made mistakes, recognizes them, and is very open about it.” pic.twitter.com/qVldjzMDM8

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 26, 2025

Murphy wasn’t so sanguine about alleged Nazi symbolism just a few months ago when Elon Musk was accused of performing a “Nazi salute” at the presidential inauguration.

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After the gesture went viral, multiple high-profile individuals came to Musk’s defense, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even the left-wing Anti-Defamation League released a statement in defense of Musk, saying the Tesla founder “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

But Murphy was apparently deeply concerned, pressing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) about the incident in a January Senate hearing.

“I think antisemitism work is best when we call out what is happening on both sides of the aisle,” Murphy asked. “What do you think of Elon Musk, perhaps the president’s most visible advisor, doing two ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes last night at the President’s televised rally?”

“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes … that is simply not the case, and to say so is – the American people are smart. They see through it. They support Elon Musk,” Stefanik replied.

Murphy pressed further still, citing several antisemitic X personalities who claimed what Musk did was a sign.