Following the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Democrats immediately began pushing the idea that Trump had to somehow be restrained from any further actions there.
Read Mary’s excellent write-up on the topic from earlier this month.
In a close vote on Thursday, House Republicans defeated a related resolution, which many of them, correctly, saw as just more anti-Trump spite.
Reuters reports:
Bid to rein in Trump’s Venezuela war powers fails in US HouseU.S. House of Representatives Republicans narrowly defeated a resolution on Thursday that would have barred President Donald Trump from further military action in Venezuela without the authorization of Congress, days after a similar measure failed in the Senate.The House voted 215 to 215, a tie that defeated the resolution which “directs the president to remove United States Armed Forces from Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”The vote was largely along party lines in the narrowly divided chamber, where Trump’s Republicans have a 218 to 213 majority. Every Republican except Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted against the resolution. Every Democrat voted in favor.House leaders held the vote open until Republican Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas could return to the Capitol building to cast the decisive no vote. California Republican Tom McClintock did not vote…Opponents of the resolution had argued it was unnecessary because the U.S. does not currently have troops on the ground in Venezuela.”We do not have anybody there in Venezuela fighting,” Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida said in the debate before the vote.Republicans also accused Democrats of introducing the legislation only as an attack on Trump. “It’s about spite,” Mast, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said. “You will condemn him no matter what he does.”
The Washington Times has more details:
The House resolution, introduced by Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, called for the president to “remove United States Armed Forces from Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”“I don’t trust this administration. I don’t trust this president to tell me the correct time, never mind keep his word on war powers,” Mr. McGovern said.But Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas argued that Congress should be “standing behind our president right now as he is engaging around the world to make sure our national security interest is being represented.”“At some point, you always have to check, you always have to look to make sure you think powers are being followed, but what we saw with Maduro, I think it’s appropriate, what we see going on right now I think fits in the parameters, the powers the president has,” he said.
Democrats are just reflexively against anything related to Trump. It doesn’t matter what it is.
Does anyone actually believe Trump is going to lead the U.S. into another forever war in Venezuela? He has been campaigning against such ideas since 2016.
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