Several US Democratic lawmakers on Saturday slammed the Trump administration’s military strikes on Venezuela, calling them "illegal."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said launching military action without congressional authorization and or a credible plan is "reckless."
"The administration must brief Congress immediately on its objectives, and its plan to prevent a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster that plunges us into another endless war or one that trades one corrupt dictator for another," Schumer said in a statement.
His remarks came after President Donald Trump said early Saturday that the Washington had "successfully" carried out a "large scale strike" against Venezuela, and that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been "captured and flown out of the country."
Sen. Tim Kaine said the upper chamber will vote next week on a bipartisan war powers resolution to block Trump from continuing military actions against Venezuela.
“My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week," Kaine said in a statement.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, urged Congress to "immediately" pass a war powers resolution to end this "illegal military operation and reassert its constitutional responsibilities."
"The President of the United States does not have the right to unilaterally take this country to war," Sanders said in a statement, adding that Trump’s attack on Venezuela will make the US and the world "less safe."
Sen. Ruben Gallego called the war "illegal," saying on US social media company X: “It’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”
Sen. Andy Kim sharply criticized the Trump administration, accusing senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, of misleading Congress and bypassing constitutional requirements over the military strikes.
"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," Kim said on X.
He argued that Trump avoided seeking congressional authorization for the use of force because of public opposition to another overseas conflict. Under the US Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war.
"Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war,” Kim wrote.
"This strike doesn't represent strength. It's not sound foreign policy. It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government," Kim said, arguing that the operation would further harm US credibility abroad.
'Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela'
Rep. Jim McGovern echoed the concerns, emphasizing the lack of congressional approval and public support for military action.
He questioned the administration’s budget priorities, contrasting the cost of military operations with domestic needs.
"Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela. He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans – but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??" McGovern said on X.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury said the White House’s confirmation of military operations underscored what she called a clear violation of constitutional limits on presidential power. She urged Congress to respond immediately.
"The White House is confirming U.S. military operations in Venezuela tonight. Let us be clear: these strikes are illegal. The President does not have the authority to declare war or undertake large-scale military operations without Congress. Congress must act to rein him in. Immediately," Stansbury said on X.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the strikes were not about drugs, despite Trump’s citing the illegal drug trade as a primary reason.
"If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs," Ocasio-Cortez said on X, referring to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who Trump pardoned last year of drug charges, and the continuing release of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, for her part, said Trump’s "illegal and unprovoked" bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of Maduro are "grave violations" of international law and the US Constitution.
"These are the actions of a rogue state. The American people do not want another regime change war abroad," Tlaib said on X.
According to US media, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not get a heads-up that the Trump administration was planning to strike Venezuela.
Nor was the House Armed Services Committee briefed.
Rubio said at a Saturday news conference along with Trump that they telephoned members of Congress immediately after the operation.
"At its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice ... it's just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission," he said.
According to local media, Trump will meet with House Republicans on Tuesday at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Customarily, the president briefs lawmakers from both parties in Congress on such strikes.
For months the US has been expanding military operations across Latin America, deploying Marines, warships, fighter and bomber jets, submarines, and drones on a stated mission to combat criminal cartels and drug trafficking.
The US public and many lawmakers have been skeptical of this military buildup and its purported goals, however.
Last month, bipartisan lawmakers introduced a war powers resolution aimed at preventing the Trump administration from engaging in military hostilities in or against Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization.
