House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels and the nation of Venezuela.
Florida Republican lawmakers, including from South Florida, joined with a majority of Republicans in opposition to restricting Trump's ability to go after "narco-terrorist cartels" and Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.
“The War Powers Resolution does not apply to law enforcement or counter-narcotics operations against indicted terrorists like Nicolás Maduro," said U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, before the House vote on the resolutions.
"What the President is doing does not require congressional approval," she said.
“When Maduro is gone and democracy is restored, Venezuela can once again be the most prosperous country in the Caribbean,” she added. “This resolution would only tie the President’s hands.”
Democrats favor invoking War Powers Act
All eight Florida congressional Democrats, including South Florida’s five U.S. Representatives, voted in favor of the two resolutions to invoke the War Powers Act of 1973, which was intended to reassert congressional power over the declaration of war.
“The President has failed to present a clear strategy to Congress or the American people,” said the Democratic lawmakers in a joint statement. “He has justified his strikes with baseless claims about ‘Venezuelan fentanyl’ while pardoning major drug traffickers.
"The President seems more concerned with maximizing oil profits and separating families than bringing the Maduro regime to justice.
“No president can launch military action without the consent of Congress. Allowing this operation to continue without that consultation would set a dangerous precedent that is incompatible with our system of checks and balances.
“Reestablishing the balance of power between Congress and the White House on a topic as serious as war is essential."
Voting in favor of the two resolutions from South Florida: U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Gardens, Lois Frankel, D-Boca Raton, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Miramar, and Jared Moskowitz, D-Parkland. Other Florida Democrats voting in favor of the resolutions were U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, Darren Soto, D-Orlando, and Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando.
The Democratic lawmakers strongly condemn “the brutality of the Maduro dictatorship,” but called Trump’s decision to end legal immigration status to 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. as “hypocritical.”
“It is hypocritical to claim Venezuela is safe enough to send back innocent people, while also declaring it dangerous enough that we need to send in troops,” they said.
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“We will stand with the Venezuelan people as they seek a free and democratic Venezuela. We will fight to reverse President Trump’s vicious assault on law-abiding Venezuelans with [Temporary Protected Status].”
“We will not give the President a blank check to exploit their pain and hardship to usurp Congress's power to authorize the use of force,” they said.
Threats against Venezuela
This week, Democrats in Congress forced the votes using war powers resolutions after Trump stepped up his threats against the South American nation. Lawmakers have questioned how the U.S. military is conducting a campaign that has destroyed 26 vessels allegedly carrying drugs and killed at least 99 people, including an attack on Wednesday.
The legislation would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels that it deems to be terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere or launching an attack on Venezuela itself.
They were the first votes in the House on Trump's military campaign in Central and South America. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had previously voted against similar resolutions, and Trump would almost certainly veto them if they were to pass Congress. But Democrats forced the votes as a way to bring up a debate about the military campaign and force Republicans to go on the record about supporting it.
Republican leaders have increasingly expressed support for Trump's campaign, even as it potentially escalates into a direct confrontation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier Wednesday that he didn't know whether the Trump administration had “publicly stated” that they wanted regime change, but “I would certainly not have a problem if that was their position.”
“Maduro is a cancer on that continent,” added Thune, R-S.D.
Still, the Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for its recent actions in the Caribbean, arguing instead that it can destroy drug-carrying boats just as it would handle terrorist threats against the U.S. That rationale, however, has led to deep scrutiny of the strikes, especially after it was revealed that a Sept. 2 operation killed two people who had survived an initial attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
