As President Donald Trump continues to escalate tension between the United States and Venezuela, Senate Republicans are so far leaving the matter up to the White House — even if that includes strikes inside the foreign nation.
“That’s going to be up to the president,” Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno told NOTUS when asked if he’d support the administration conducting strikes in Venezuela. “He certainly has Article 2 authority to do that.”
In recent days, Trump has continued to signal his intent to strike Venezuela. The Department of Defense has built up a significant military presence in the region. On Thursday, the military flew B-1 bombers up Venezuela’s coast, and on Friday, it deployed an aircraft carrier to the region. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has responded with his own military buildup.
All the makings are there for the hostilities to boil over. Congress, which has the authority to declare war under Article 1 of the Constitution, has neither approved the action or done anything to stop it. And Trump has made clear he won’t seek congressional approval.
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said on Thursday. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.”
Some lawmakers are trying to limit Trump’s actions in Venezuela. Article 2, which enumerates the president’s powers, names him as commander in chief of the military. But the power to declare war lies with Congress. Several Democrats in the Senate, joined by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, have argued that strikes on Venezuela would be illegal without congressional authorization.
Paul and Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff introduced a resolution to require the president to notify Congress before taking military action.
Kaine told NOTUS that even senators who didn’t vote with him on a different war powers resolution in early October said they were concerned about the direction that things are headed. He noted that in one strike, two people survived and were sent to their home countries instead of being held by the U.S. and prosecuted. Kaine said this suggests “there was probably no evidence against them.”
“So I think as this pace continues, and the possibilities of making a mistake and a bad decision becomes more obvious, I think there will be a momentum that will get more people our way,” Kaine said Tuesday.
He also said he expects the vote to take place during the first week of November.
The U.S. military has already killed at least 43 people in 10 different strikes on what the administration alleges are boats smuggling drugs to the United States. The Trump administration has refused to provide names or any other evidence to support their claims. An independent panel of the United Nations has condemned the killings as extrajudicial. There are allegations that a purported drug boat strike killed a fisherman on his fishing boat.
Republican senators NOTUS spoke to seemed willing to leave things up to the administration.
“You should talk to Secretary of State Rubio,” Sen. John Kennedy told NOTUS. “He has researched the legality and the accuracy, and I trust his judgment.”
The White House has argued its actions have been about stopping the flow of drugs to the United States, in the national interest. On this, the White House has the support of many.
“I’m very appreciative that the president is using our resources and using our military to make sure that we can stop all the drugs from coming into this country,” said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, which has the largest Venezuelan population in the country.
But reporting suggests ousting Maduro is the White House’s real goal. It’s difficult to discern how far the White House is willing to go to either end. NOTUS asked Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch whether Trump would need congressional authorization to conduct land operations.
“It would depend upon what he directed,” Risch said. “That leads into the weeds about what authority he has under his Article 2 constitutional duties and responsibilities. And we’re talking about something I just don’t have enough background on to talk about.”
Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against the war powers resolution on boat strikes earlier this month. He, too, told NOTUS that how he proceeds will depend on the administration’s objectives, which are at this point unclear to him.
“I don’t know if this extends to war — originally it was about drug boats and the trade. And that kills tens of thousands of Americans. So, anything beyond that — I’m not exactly sure what’s happening at this point. I don’t think anyone really knows that.”