On Sunday, both Virginia Senators Kaine and Warner issued statements criticizing Trump’s illegal incursion into Venezuela and the detention of its president. Kaine’s statement in part says:
“However terrible Maduro is, Trump’s unauthorized attack on Venezuela to arrest him is a dangerous and deeply troubling return to a time when the U.S. asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere.
That history is replete with failures. Doubling down on it makes it difficult to claim with a straight face that other countries should respect U.S. sovereignty — when we do not do the same.
Where will this go next? Will Trump deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies?
Trump has threatened all this and more — and sees no need to seek legal authorization from the people’s elected Congress before putting our servicemembers at risk.
Congress must reassert our critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy, and trade.
My bipartisan War Powers Resolution — declaring that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization — will come up for a vote next week, and I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this necessary legislation.”
Call Congressman Rob Wittman (202-225-4261 or 804-730-6595) and John McGuire (202-225-4711 or 804-791-2596) and demand that they vote to support Senator Kaine’s War Powers Resolution that would reassert Congressional authority for the declaration of foreign hostilities.
