House unable to halt Venezuela war march

Tonight the House of Representatives failed to pass a resolution to prevent the use of unauthorized military force against Venezuela, amid escalating hostilities against it.

Lawmakers narrowly voted to reject H. Con. Res. 64, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.) in a 211-213 vote. Republican representatives Thomas Massie (R.-Ky.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Don Bacon (Ill.), and Democrats Joaquin Castro (Texas), Sarah Jacobs (Calif.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (Ill.) co-sponsored that resolution.

Lawmakers also voted 216 to 210 to reject H. Con. Res. 61,introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), which would block U.S. military action against “any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere,” amid ongoing U.S. strikes against so-called “narco-terrorists” around the Caribbean. Meeks’ resolution was co-sponsored by 40 other legislators, all Democrats.

Lawmakers voted primarily along party lines for both resolutions, where Republicans largely voted against both resolutions, and Democrats largely voted for them. Exceptions on the Republican side included Reps. Massie and Bacon, who voted for Res. 61; they and Green voted for Res. 64. On the Democratic side, Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) voted no for both resolutions while Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (Texas) joined him to vote no on 61.

Since early September, the U.S. has repeatedly struck boats near Venezuela it alleges are bringing illegal drugs to the U.S., as part of what it calls a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels it has designated as foreign terrorists.

That campaign comes as the U.S. has pursued a major military build-up in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela in what President Trump has called a pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.Trump said early this month that land operations against Caracas were possible “soon.” Trump announced a blockade yesterday on sanctioned oil tankers leaving and entering Venezuela.

Lawmakers have grown increasingly weary about the boat strikes and their legality, with some wondering whether the operation’s end game is to oust Maduro.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a closed door briefing to House and Senate lawmakers on the strikes yesterday, to quell concerns about the legality of the strikes; many lawmakers left unconvinced.

On the floor before the votes, lawmakers said Congress must assert its authority to decide when to go to war.

“The constitution vests this body with authority over matters of war and peace. That power has too often been ceded to the executive branch,” Rep. Meeks said. “Congress must make clear to all of us that no president can unilaterally draw the United States into a conflict.”

Others warned against war with Venezuela altogether.

“It's easy to get into a war. It's hard as hell to get out of war,” Rep. McGovern said. “I've been around long enough to hear representatives of both parties talk about war as something simple, ‘You can get into it. We get out of it easy. No big deal.’ That's never happened!”

“Even the Pentagon says it will be very, very complicated to topple Maduro,” he said.

Previous votes in the Senate aimed at blocking possible U.S. military action against Venezuela, or the strikes against “narco-terrorists” near it, have also narrowly failed.

Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) both introduced War Powers Resolutions this fall; they were not brought to vote.