A growing number of Democratic lawmakers are calling for immediate action against President Donald Trump following his administration’s unprecedented attack on Venezuela, and subsequent capture of its president and first lady.
“Let us be clear: these strikes are illegal,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) on Saturday in a statement on social media. “The President does not have the authority to declare war or undertake large-scale military operations without Congress. Congress must act to rein him in. Immediately.”
Trump took to social media early Saturday to announce that his administration had carried out a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela, and that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured as part of the operation and “flown out of the country.”
The Trump administration has ramped up military threats against Venezuela in recent months, including with its lethal strikes against suspected drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean. Trump has also closed Venezuela’s airspace, and suggested that land operations would “start very soon” in November.
Most Democratic lawmakers have been against the Trump administration’s military escalations with Venezuela, and after Saturday morning’s operation, many are now calling for immediate action.
“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) in a statement on social media. “He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans – but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??”
The Trump administration has long said its goals for pushing for regime change in Venezuela were to combat drug trafficking, but a number of Trump officials, Republican lawmakers and even Trump himself have let slip that the country’s vast oil reserves – the single-largest on earth – may also be a factor.
“Secretaries [Marco] Rubio and [Pete] Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change,” wrote Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) in a social media post on X.
“I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress. Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.”
