Top Democrats slammed President Trump’s decision to order Operation Absolute Resolve to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro without congressional approval, while acknowledging the benefits of the dictator’s ouster.
Many Dems called on Congress to pass a War Powers Act resolution when it reconvenes this week to restrict him from carrying out additional military operations in Venezuela.
“Maduro is a horrible, horrible person, but you don’t treat lawlessness with other lawlessness, and that’s what’s happened here,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
“They did not just do ships off the water. They went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian as well as military places, and it’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.”
Last month, the GOP-controlled House shot down two different attempts to rein in Trump’s military powers. But Schumer contended that the attack should give Congress renewed urgency to curb Trump’s war authority.
Schumer further blasted Trump’s planning for Venezuela as a “back-of-the-envelope operation” and warned that modernizing the country’s oil extraction systems is going to take time.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) dittoed Schumer’s concerns and accused the Trump administration of lacking a solid plan for what comes next in Venezuela.
“He’s a bad guy, of course, and he’s going to stand trial in [an] American court of law at this particular point in time,” Jeffries told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“It remains to be seen whether the people of Venezuela are going to be better off. Donald Trump claims that he’s going to run Venezuela. He’s done a terrible job running the United States of America.”
Some Dems griped privately that the hand-wringing over the Maduro raid makes the party “look weak,” according to Axios.
“If you don’t acknowledge when there is a win for our country, then you lose all credibility,” a Dem in a 2026 battleground district told the outlet.
During a press conference after the capture of Maduro, Trump told reporters that “we are going to run the country,” but gave very few details about what that means.
On Saturday, Venezuela swore in Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, as the country’s acting president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke with Rodriguez on Saturday, claimed that she lacks legitimacy.
Rubio also contended that the Trump administration had the authority to go into Venezuela and carry out a “law enforcement operation” because Maduro was never the legitimate leader of the South American country.
A handful of Republicans, including firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is officially retiring from the House on Monday, and libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), slammed Trump.
“After this regime change in Venezuela, I fear we’re going to see jobs just move south because we’re already hearing about big corporations lining up their trips to Venezuela for the next big business opportunity while Americans sit here with no options,” Greene vented to NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who co-authored a 2019 op-ed railing against Maduro, alleged that Trump’s operation “seems to be mostly about oil and natural resources” and is “all about making money for his friends.”
A far-left Maine Democratic Senate hopeful went even farther. He called upon his “fellow comrades” to resist Trump and “retake’’ the US.
“Friends and comrades, we have a fight ahead of us. This is gangsterism on an international scale,” Graham Platner, who was added as having a Nazi-linked tattoo, raged at a gathering with supporters Saturday in Portland.
Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, grumbled that the Trump administration hasn’t given him a proper briefing on the operation.
Himes, alongside Schumer and Jeffries, is part of the Gang of Eight in Congress — the eight lawmakers entitled to the highest tier of classified briefing.
“America can see the fact that they no longer have a Congress,” Himes vented to CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I have yet to get a phone call from anybody in the administration,” the congressman went on. “Whether you think Congress leaks or not, the law says that [POTUS] must brief Congress.”
Rubio has maintained that it wasn’t necessary for the Trump administration to give members of Congress advance notice of the operation.
“It wasn’t necessary because this is not an invasion. We didn’t occupy a country,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” “This was an arrest operation. This was a law enforcement operation.”
“And number two, it’s an exigent circumstance. It’s an emergent thing. You don’t even know if you’re going to be able to do it,” he added. “But the number one reason is operational security.”
