House Democrats Criticize Trump And Rubio For 'Pushing For Regime Change In Venezuela: 'The American People Don't Want Another War'

Democrats in the House Foreign Affairs committee criticized President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for "pushing for regime change in Venezuela."

"The American people don't want another war—and Congress can't let any president start one illegally or unilaterally. That's not how the Constitution works," the lawmakers claimed in a social media publication.

Democrats cited a New York Times article claiming that Trump ended all diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, instructing envoy Richard Grenell to cease all efforts as he grows frustrated with authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro's reluctance to relinquish power.

Trump is also frustrated that Maduro keeps rejecting any ties with drug cartels, the outlet added. Officials told the outlet that the administration has drawn up multiple military plans for an eventual escalation.

So far, the U.S. military has conducted at least four strikes on vessels it claimed were trafficking drugs that would ultimately end up in the U.S. However, some of the new plans could also seek the ousting of Maduro, the outlet added.

Top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have called Maduro an illegitimate leader, and some lawmakers with close ties with the Venezuelan community have been hinting at regime change in the country.

However, Democrats claimed the administration can't start a war unilaterally, considering Congress has the authority to declare war as stated in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution. Consequently, the president's role in war would be to execute military action, rather than start it.

Moreover, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a statute requiring the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing troops into hostilities and limits their duration to 60 days unless Congress authorizes further action.

However, CNN also reported that the Department of Justice released a secret opinion justifying strikes against cartels and suspected drug traffickers.

Concretely, the opinion issued by the Office of Legal Counsel claims that President Donald Trump is allowed to authorize deadly force against the targets because they pose an imminent threat to Americans, the outlet noted. It also quoted legal experts who said the opinion is significant because it appears to justify an open-ended war against secret enemies. It also allows him to have them summarily killed without legal review, in contrast with past cases in which they got due process rights.

Sarah Harrison, a former associate general counsel at the Department of Defense, said the opinion "would mean DOJ has interpreted the president to have such extraordinary powers that he alone can decide to prosecute a war far broader than what Congress authorized after the attacks on 9/11."

"By this logic, any small, medium or big group that is trafficking drugs into the US — the administration could claim it amounts to an attack against the United States and respond with lethal force," she added when talking to the outlet.