House rejects limits on Trump’s military actions against Venezuela
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday rejected two measures aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from carrying out additional strikes on suspected drug boats or attacking Venezuela without congressional approval as lawmakers remained divided over the administration’s military actions in South America.
The votes — 210-216 for the drug boat measure and 211-213 for the Venezuela resolution — marked the latest attempt by mostly Democrats and a handful of Republicans to assert Congress’ constitutional authority to declare war after two recent failed efforts in the Senate.
The flurry of congressional activity comes as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign against Venezuela, seizing an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, ordering a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers into and out of the country and continuing to attack boats suspected of smuggling drugs.
Trump warned on social media Tuesday that the massive buildup of military assets near Venezuela — the largest in decades — “will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.”
Alarmed lawmakers on Wednesday said it was imperative for Congress to weigh in as Trump threatens land strikes inside Venezuela and uses the military to bomb alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, many near Venezuela.
The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the authority to declare war, and the 1973 War Powers Resolution requires the president to seek approval from Congress before introducing armed forces “into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.”
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, who introduced the measure prohibiting military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization, said service members were already being put at risk.
“American troops take an oath to protect and defend this country — it is our duty in Congress to debate and vote before they are put into harm’s way,” said McGovern. “Right now, by placing U.S. military assets off the coast of Venezuela, this administration has them in harm’s way.”
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles conceded in an interview published Tuesday that “activity on land” in Venezuela would need congressional authorization. But the Trump administration has suggested it does not need lawmaker approval for the boat strikes because the vessels are mostly being hit by drones far from U.S. naval forces.
Lawmakers this week received several classified briefings on the boat bombing campaign, which has killed at least 99 people in 26 attacks. Democrats are continuing to push for the public release of unedited videos showing the initial Sept. 2 strike and a controversial follow-up strike that killed two survivors.
Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed support Wednesday for the operation targeting drug boats and said Trump was acting “decisively and lawfully” within his authority as commander-in-chief to combat cartels.
“These strikes are lawful under U.S. law and international laws and all actions are in compliance with the law of armed conflict,” he said. “But most importantly, these strikes have dramatically reduced drug smuggling operations.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, left Tuesday’s briefing questioning Trump’s motivations regarding Venezuela.
“It doesn’t seem to be just about narcotics trafficking,” Meeks said. “So if this is about regime change, it seems to me that the administration should say that’s what it is and should come to Congress to ask for that authorization, which has not taken place.”
Meeks led the resolution to remove U.S. troops “from hostilities with any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere” without congressional authorization.
Republican Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an Army combat veteran, argued against both resolutions Wednesday, saying they would tie the president’s hands. He echoed the Trump administration’s contention that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is a narco-terrorist who is poisoning Americans.
But Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a co-sponsor of the resolution requiring congressional approval for military action in Venezuela, cast doubt on the administration’s stated focus on drugs — “this is about oil and regime change,” he said.
He urged fellow lawmakers to demand a say over how the president deploys the military.
“All we’re voting on is a war powers resolution that strengthens the fabric of our republic by reasserting the plain and simple language in the Constitution that Congress must decide questions of war,” he said.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us...-military-action-venezuela-20127592.html
