In a stunning display of executive overreach, President Donald Trump's administration launched a military operation against Venezuela without so much as a nod to Congress. This brazen move has left lawmakers reeling and Democrats publicly condemning the president for his actions.
Despite having ample opportunities to block the attack, Congress has failed to take decisive action. Since September, there have been four failed votes on resolutions aimed at stopping unauthorized strikes against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean or Venezuelan soil. These attempts were dismissed by Republicans, who claimed they had not been properly informed of the administration's plans.
Lawmakers are now set to vote again on a war powers resolution in the Senate, their last chance to put a damper on the operation. Heather Brandon-Smith, legislative director for foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, warned that Congress has "a mechanism to stop it through voting for these war powers resolutions." However, with Democrats united against the attack and Republicans divided over their stance, success remains uncertain.
Republicans who voted against the previous resolutions may point to assurances from administration officials, including hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio. These officials claimed they were not preparing to target Venezuela itself, but Rubio's denial that he lied to lawmakers about the administration's plans has raised eyebrows.
The absence of Republican support has been a significant factor in blocking action on the attack. Even if Congress had managed to pass one of the war powers resolutions, it would have faced an uphill battle against a Trump veto.
Some Republicans privately feel misled by Rubio's assurances, but their willingness to speak out publicly remains uncertain. For now, lawmakers must confront the reality that their inaction has allowed Trump to take significant steps towards escalating a conflict with Venezuela.
Despite having ample opportunities to block the attack, Congress has failed to take decisive action. Since September, there have been four failed votes on resolutions aimed at stopping unauthorized strikes against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean or Venezuelan soil. These attempts were dismissed by Republicans, who claimed they had not been properly informed of the administration's plans.
Lawmakers are now set to vote again on a war powers resolution in the Senate, their last chance to put a damper on the operation. Heather Brandon-Smith, legislative director for foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, warned that Congress has "a mechanism to stop it through voting for these war powers resolutions." However, with Democrats united against the attack and Republicans divided over their stance, success remains uncertain.
Republicans who voted against the previous resolutions may point to assurances from administration officials, including hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio. These officials claimed they were not preparing to target Venezuela itself, but Rubio's denial that he lied to lawmakers about the administration's plans has raised eyebrows.
The absence of Republican support has been a significant factor in blocking action on the attack. Even if Congress had managed to pass one of the war powers resolutions, it would have faced an uphill battle against a Trump veto.
Some Republicans privately feel misled by Rubio's assurances, but their willingness to speak out publicly remains uncertain. For now, lawmakers must confront the reality that their inaction has allowed Trump to take significant steps towards escalating a conflict with Venezuela.
I'm low-key surprised this is even happening. Like, what's the plan here? Are we just gonna bomb some alleged smugglers without a care for Congress or anything? It's wild that they're doing this behind everyone's back and then act like it's no big deal when Democrats start speaking out.
. I mean, come on, they had four chances to block it already and what did they do? Nothing 
. It's not like Trump just pulled a random number out of thin air, there were votes and everything, but somehow they still managed to mess it up 
. And now they're all scrambling around trying to figure out how to stop the operation when really they should've done something weeks ago 
. It's kinda funny that Republicans are saying they weren't properly informed, because if you can't even be bothered to show up for a vote then maybe you shouldn't have voted in the first place 
. And honestly, I don't think Trump did anything wrong here, he's just taking care of business 
. The real question is, what's going on with all these Republicans who are now trying to distance themselves from Rubio? Are they just trying to save face or do they actually have something better planned? 
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! Like, what kind of executive power is this? President Trump basically just does whatever he wants without checking in with Congress first? It's not even like they're trying to hide it from us, but instead are just lying through their teeth about the whole thing. Marco Rubio is a total hypocrite right now 
. We can't let Trump just take over like this without consequences. Something needs to change ASAP 
OMG I'm literally shook rn... can't believe trump just went rogue on congress like that! 
The fact that republicans are still trying to justify it after Rubio's admission is mind-blowing... did they really think we wouldn't notice? 
Like what even is the point of having a legislative branch if you're not gonna use it?! 
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. One thing is for sure: Congress needs to step up its game if they want to make a difference in this situation 
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and congress failing to take decisive action like, what's up with that? didn't they know this was coming down the pipe?! 
and now it seems like trump got away with it because republicans are all divided on this one... it's just so frustrating 
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. And what's up with Rubio's denial of lying to lawmakers? Either he was telling the truth or he wasn't... seems like we'll never know for sure 
. Maybe they should've done more research on this one before letting Trump go off half-cocked 
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. Congress is supposed to have the power to say no, but they're too scared or divided to do anything. And Trump just does what he wants, because who's gonna stop him? 
rubeos gotta be lying thru their teeth tho lol marco Rubio is like the worst 
we need to hold ppl in power accountable for their actions and make sure we dont let executive power get outta hand 
and now they're trying to backtrack? so much drama... I'm not surprised that Congress is getting slammed for being slow, though - if they'd actually done their job earlier on this would've stopped it from happening 
have you guys ever seen one of those? it's like they're trying so hard to move but are like "uh, nope, I'll just chill" lol. anyway, back to this Venezuela thing... what's the deal with our presidents always taking executive actions without Congress' input? can't they just work together or something?