Democrats Claim Trump Capturing Maduro is an ‘Impeachable Offense’

MARY CHASTAIN JAN 5, 2026 5:00 PM

Here we go again!

Yes, the Democrats have described the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as an impeachable offense.

The Democratic lawmakers are furious that Trump left Congress in the dark about the operation.

The administration plans to brief Congressional leaders today at 5:30 PM ET.

Something tells me the briefing won’t change their minds.

Axios mentioned a few statements from the Democrats:

• “I had absolutely no briefing or heads up,” House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) fumed to Axios. “I received all information from the news media at this point.”
• “Trump must be impeached,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) in a statement, also calling for the passage of legislation to rein in executive war powers and reassert congressional control over the process.
• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) called Trump’s plan to run Venezuela “truly insane” and a “disaster.” Referring to a Constitutional mechanism that allows the Cabinet to remove a president, he told Axios: “We are in 25th Amendment territory now.”
• “Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). “I am reconsidering that view.”
• Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said in a statement: “This violation of the United States Constitution is an impeachable offense.”

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) claimed Trump’s actions are a “direct violation of the United States Constitution.”

Other Democrats did not mention impeachment, but agreed that Trump violated the Constitution.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who is also running for California governor, said Maduro is an illegitimate leader, but insisted the administration violated the Constitution:

Swalwell said nobody wanted to see Maduro in charge of Venezuela but said Trump’s unilateral military actions had been taken without legal congressional authority.“What this president has done, in the shortcuts that he has taken, is he’s going to, one shortcut at a time, put us in a fascist cul-de-sac. That’s where he’d taken us, that’s the objection. It’s not a process objection; it’s an objection for acting in such a fascistic way,” he said.Swalwell would not rule out funding an occupation of Venezuela, saying that too much was unknown, including how long any troop deployments would last and what they could cost. But he said the president had put Congress in a “tough position” and the Democratic caucus would meet soon to try to determine its stance.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi echoed Swalwell’s thoughts about Maduro and Trump’s operation:

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called Maduro an “illegitimate leader” but questioned the Trump administration’s reliance on allegations of drug trafficking as a justification of force and said the administration had not proven Maduro represented an urgent threat to the United States.“If the President grounds his actions on the basis of drug trafficking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was responsible for bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine in the United States in order to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,’” Pelosi said in a statement.“The Administration says Maduro will be tried for drug trafficking in a U.S. court – but Hernandez was convicted of the same crimes by an American jury and Trump pardoned him,” she said.

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