A bipartisan group of Senators on Friday took steps to block President Donald Trump from “engag[ing] in hostilities” in Venezuela under a War Powers Resolution following another strike off the coast of the South American nation this week.
The resolution looked to remind Trump that only Congress has the “sole power to declare war” after the president on Wednesday said he was considering land operations and had authorized CIA operations there.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has responded to the U.S. anti-drug cartel attacks off their shores by launching military exercises and deploying thousands of troops near the Colombian border first starting in August, according to reports.
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Some reporting suggested more troops may have been moved on Thursday following the strikes this week, though Fox News Digital could not independently verify this.
“I’m extremely troubled that the Trump Administration is considering launching illegal military strikes inside Venezuela without a specific authorization by Congress,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement Friday. “Americans don’t want to send their sons and daughters into more wars—especially wars that carry a serious risk of significant destabilization and massive new waves of migration in our hemisphere.”
“If my colleagues disagree and think a war with Venezuela is a good idea, they need to meet their constitutional obligations by making their case to the American people and passing an Authorization for Use of Military Force,” Kaine, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added.
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Kaine’s resolution saw some support across the aisle and was joined by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who said in a statement, “The American people do not want to be dragged into endless war with Venezuela without public debate or a vote.
“We ought to defend what the Constitution demands: deliberation before war,” he added.
Though the resolution has bipartisan support, it faces an uphill battle in actually passing through the GOP-controlled Senate, which currently holds 53 seats in the upper chamber.
A similar bill, also co-sponsored by Paul and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., which looked to block the use of U.S. military force in the southern Caribbean Sea without the Congressional Authorization of Military Force, failed in the Senate just last week despite two Republicans, Paul and Alaskan Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, crossing party lines to back it.
In response to the resolution, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital, “As Commander-in-Chief, the President has acted within the laws of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring poison to our shores.
“It is obscene that these lawmakers would try to run cover for evil narco-terrorists as over 100,000 Americans die from overdoses every year – President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” she added.
Democrats have argued that the administration has yet to supply any evidence regarding the boat strikes that it has said were transporting members of Tren de Aragua – designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization earlier this year.
In at least one strike off the South American nation, Venezuelan officials claimed the victims were not members of the drug cartel, reported Reuters last month.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Venezuelan embassy in D.C. for comment.
