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Pramila Jayapal seeks answers on Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’
Jayapal is leading a congressional delegation to the Panamerican Congress, where hemispheric partners will discuss alternative visions for security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere rooted in respect for the sovereignty of countries across the region, international law, and the needs of poor and working-class communities.
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Staff Reporter - Tue, 18, Aug 2026
- 03:30 EDT
- 53
Pramila Jayapal / X/ @RepJayapal
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal has raised concerns over what she calls President Donald Trump’s interventionist approach in the Western Hemisphere, urging that the country’s regional foreign policy should be based on mutual respect, national sovereignty and human rights.
Jayapal, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is leading a group of lawmakers seeking greater clarity on what the Trump administration’s so-called “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine means in practice and what consequences it could have for communities across the Americas.
ALSO READ: Trump admin “manufacturing” culture war to divert from real issues: Jayapal
Critics have referred to it as the “Donroe” Doctrine, and it relies on a mix of military pressure, tariffs and sanctions to counter rivals such as China and Russia and enforce American primacy.
The lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking answers on the regional implications of the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine and urging the administration to ground U.S. foreign policy toward the Western Hemisphere in the principles of mutual respect and advancement of human rights.
“We write to express our concern regarding the application of the so-called ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
In the letter, lawmakers said that as members of Congress, they were being asked to accept that this doctrine now governs U.S. policy toward every nation in the Western Hemisphere, yet they still lack the basic information needed to understand what it means in practice, what authorities it assumes, and what human costs this new posture has already claimed in communities across the Americas.
Taken together, the interventions conducted under the banner of the “Donroe” Doctrine appear to follow a partisan playbook: the endorsement of favored candidates, the placement of political allies, the weaponization of tariffs and sanctions, and, where those fail, the application of direct military force. These are tactics that destabilize our hemisphere and endanger neighbors.
The “Donroe” Doctrine appears to have three main facets, including lethal force without congressional authorization or due process. Since September 2025, the U.S. military has carried out more than five dozen lethal boat strikes, killing well over 200 people with no due process.
Before this year's Panamerican Congress, I'm demanding the Trump administration answer for their "Donroe” Doctrine.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 17, 2026
It follows a partisan playbook: lethal force, economic coercion, interference in the democratic life of sovereign nations. These tactics destabilize our hemisphere… pic.twitter.com/7d3ItB6sOJ
Second, economic coercion as a form of collective punishment: In January, the president imposed what amounts to a full blockade on fuel shipments to the island. Elsewhere, sanctions and tariffs have been used to shield a political ally from prosecution and to pressure an electorate before it votes.
Third, interference in the democratic life of sovereign nations: Across the hemisphere, the administration has openly intervened in sovereign electoral processes, including in Honduras and Colombia.
Jayapal is leading a congressional delegation to the Panamerican Congress, where hemispheric partners will discuss alternative visions for security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere rooted in respect for the sovereignty of countries across the region, international law, and the needs of poor and working-class communities.
The letter was also signed by Reps. Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Jonathan Jackson, Summer Lee, Ilhan Omar, Delia C. Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib and Nydia Velázquez, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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