GOP lawmaker accuses Trump of lying like Bush to start a war: 'Same playbook'

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) accused President Donald Trump of following former President George W. Bush's playbook by lying to the country to start a war.

"The framers understood a simple truth. To the extent that war-making power devolves to one person, liberty dissolves," Massie said during a Wednesday speech on the House floor. "If the president believes military action against Venezuela is justified and needed, he should make the case, and Congress should vote before American lives and treasure are spent on regime change in South America."

"Do we truly believe that Nicholas Maduro will be replaced by a modern-day George Washington? How did that work out? In Cuba, Libya, Iraq, or Syria?" he continued. "Previous presidents told us to go to war over WMDs, weapons of mass destruction, that did not exist. Now it's the same playbook, except we're told that drugs are the WMDs."

"If it were about drugs, we'd bomb Mexico or China or Colombia. And the president would not have pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez. This is about oil and regime change. "

Earlier this week, Trump officially designated "fentanyl and its core precursor chemical as weapons of mass destruction (WMD)."