The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Oct. 26, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We 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, Defense Secretary 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. Take a listen.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don't think we're going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK. We're going to kill them. You know, they're going to be, like, dead.
[SOUNDS OF TAPE ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: You don't need an aircraft carrier to hit drug boats are land strikes planned?
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, I think that's a real possibility. I think President Trump's made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug, drug trafficker, that it's time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long, and President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia. So there will be a congressional briefing about a potential expanding from the sea to the land. I support that idea, but I think he has all the authority he needs. Senator Gallego, on another network, accused President Trump and our military of committing murder by attacking these drug boats. To our men and women in uniform, you're not murdering anybody. You're making America safer by going after a narco-terrorist. You're following lawful orders. When President Bush, 41, took Ortega out in Panama, Reagan went into Grenada to deal with the Cuban influence from Grenada in our backyard, he has all the authority in the world. This is not murder. This is protecting America from being poisoned by narco-terrorists coming from Venezuela and Colombia.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, a lot there. But just to clarify the examples you're citing, also involved ground troops. You said time for Maduro to go. That sounds a lot like regime change. Are you talking about troops on the ground?
SEN. GRAHAM: I'll let the President speak to that. I'm talking about a briefing that would expand military operations potentially from the sea to the land. It is time for Maduro to go. It was time for Ortega to go. You know, the Monroe Doctrine has been robustly applied by President Trump. So these military assets are moving forward to deal with a country that's got blood on its hands when it comes to Americans by flooding our country with drugs from Venezuela and Colombia. So I hope Maduro would leave peacefully, but I don't think he's going to stay around much longer. I think President Trump is tired of Venezuela being used as a staging platform to poison America?
MARGARET BRENNAN Well, there's a lot there, sir, but you cited a Democratic senator's criticism. He's not the only one. Some of your Republican colleagues have been uncomfortable with what little information has been shared with Congress. Take a listen:
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SEN. RAND PAUL: If they want all out war where we kill anybody and everybody that is in the country of Venezuela or coming out that has to have a declaration of war. It's something that is not pretty, very expensive, and I'm not in favor of declaring war on Venezuela, but the Congress should vote. And the President shouldn't do this by himself.
SEN. TODD YOUNG: If this was happening with this level of insight under the Biden administration, I'd be apoplectic.
[SOUND ON TAPE ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Todd Young also criticized this, what exactly is the end game? Because you're talking about regime change in Venezuela, the President says this is about drug boats.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah. Well, I think the end game is to make sure that Venezuela and Colombia cannot be used to poison America, that the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro no longer be able to threaten our country and to send in drugs to kill Americans. As to Rand Paul, I just disagree fundamental with his approach. We didn't have a declaration to go into Panama. Bush 41 went into Panama to replace the leadership there, because the Panama leadership, Panamanian leadership, were working with drug cartels to threaten our country. Reagan didn't have a declaration of war congressional authorization to deal with Cuban influence. So this idea- Rand Paul, I just fundamentally disagree with. To the other senators, you deserve more information, and you're going to get more information, but there is no requirement 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 go after countries and leaders that were threatening our people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But there seemed to be a number of issues wound up in here. I know you personally used to serve as a judge advocate in the Air Force. We looked at the JAG manual: preventative self defense employed to counter non imminent threats is illegal under international law. So if we are not at war and these suspected criminals pose no threat of imminent violence, isn't this potentially a war crime to be killing the people on these boats and then to be taking out a leader?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, not at all. I don't know what man you're referring to, but I know what President Bush, 41 did. He took down Ortega [sic], the leader of Panama, because he was involved in drug trafficking threatening 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: Partnering with drug cartels in Venezuela. No, it should have stopped. Here's what, here's what's new. You got a commander-in-chief's not going to put up with this crap. We're not going to sit on the sidelines and watch boats full of drugs come to our country. We're going to blow them up and kill the people that want to poison America, and we're now going to expand operations, I think, to the land. So please be clear about what I'm saying today. President Donald Trump sees Venezuela and Colombia as direct threats to our country, because they house Narco terrorist organizations. The leader of Venezuela is an indicted drug dealer in American courts. So yeah, the game is changing when it comes to drug traffickers and drug cartels. We're going to use military force like 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 heat goes down.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But is trafficking cocaine an armed attack on the United States? That's what you're equating it to?
SEN. GRAHAM: I am saying that there's plenty of law under article, Article Two powers of the President are designed to protect our countries from threats foreign and domestic. Was it illegal for Bush to take Ortega out in Panama? Was it illegal for Reagan to go into Grenada to stop Cuban influence building this big, long runway? There's plenty of precedent here to do what he's doing. But the game has changed. The game has changed when it comes to narco trafficking, drug organizations. We're going to take you out.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you referenced something earlier. Sorry. I want to come back to you said to the men and women of the military that they are carrying out lawful orders. Secretary Hegseth removed the top uniformed lawyers in the Air Force, you know this, the Navy and the Army, because he called them roadblocks to orders that are given by a commander-in-chief. There have been other departures as well. This raises concern that commanders are not being given adequate legal counsel. That is why you just said that sentence, to assure them.
SEN. GRAHAM: That's that's garbage, that's absolute garbage–
(Crosstalk)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Which that Hegseth said that?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, no. I'm saying that- the theory that President Trump's doing something here illegally, dealing with a country that's run by an indicted drug dealer. It's the same as Panama. There's a better case to go into Venezuela than there was Panama. There's a better case to deal with Colombia than there was Grenada. Yeah, I've been doing this all of my adult life. I have all the confidence in the world that President Trump has the legal authority, but more importantly, he's doing the right thing. More Americans have died from cocaine and fentanyl poisoning than any terrorist group in the world. I am very pleased that we now have a president who's going to use the full force of, of the American people, the might of America, to protect us from narco terrorist states and drug organizations. Keep it up, Mr. President, we're not committing murder. We're protecting our nation from people who want to poison us.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, there's obviously buyers on the other end of it, which is why the cartels are selling, right?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well yeah, we'll deal with both. We'll deal with both.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well I want to come back to– when we talk about lawful orders here, I myself spoke to a former senior commander who said he'd want that in writing because of concern that, that this is going to be down the line questionable.
SEN. GRAHAM: What in writing?
MARGARET BRENNAN: You've already heard the orders to carry out operations. You've already heard Democratic lawmakers, including on this program, say that they have concerns about future prosecutions of officers.
SEN. GRAHAM: Well act on your concerns. Why don't you- Why don't you- Okay, if you've got concerns, here's what we can do as members of Congress. We can cut off funding for military operations we don't like. So if you're concerned as a Democrat or Republican, why don't you introduce legislation to cut off all funding to the military when it comes to attacking drug votes and going after narco terrorist states through the military. You can do that. Go ahead and do it. I'll vote no. I think it has all the authority in the world under Article Two and international law to make sure that countries like Venezuela can't be staging areas to infiltrate drugs into our country. It's not a, I think it has all the legal authority in the world. I'm just really glad he's 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 some news there, Senator. Thank you for your time today. We'll be back in a moment.
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