“Congress has not authorized this war,” wrote Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton on X. “Venezuela posed no immediate threat to the United States. This is reckless, arbitrary regime change, putting American lives at risk (Iraq 2.0), with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.”
Trump announced the attack in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning, prompting an outpouring of praise from ideologically aligned members of his party — and harsh criticism from Democrats.
Interestingly, leading Democratic congressmen were not the first to react. Instead, rank-and-file lawmakers took the lead, sharing their anger over Trump's decision to overthrow a foreign leader by military force without first seeking congressional approval.
One of the few Democrats in key positions who quickly spoke out on Saturday was Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. In a statement, he said the administration must “immediately inform Congress of its plan to ensure stability in the region and the legal justification for this decision.”
“Maduro is an illegitimate leader,” Himes wrote. “But I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without congressional approval, nor have I heard of any strategy in the day after the intervention and that how we will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos“.
Trump addressed emerging criticism from Democrats in an interview on Fox News, saying “they're just complaining.”
“They should have said, 'Great job,'” he said. “They shouldn't say, 'Oh my gosh, maybe this isn't constitutional.' You know, it's the same old stuff we've been hearing for years.”
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Congress did not approve military action against Venezuela, and lawmakers have been divided for months over the legality of the Trump administration's crackdown on ships suspected of drug smuggling in waters off Latin America and a potential move to oust Maduro. Republicans pushed back against several Democratic initiatives that aimed to require Trump to seek congressional approval before attacking Venezuela.
“Rubio and Hegseth blatantly lied to Congress.”
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced Saturday that he would force the chamber to vote again next week on his initiative to limit Trump's war powers.
“Where is this going?” – he asked. “Will the president send our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce a fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To fight terrorists in Nigeria? To take over Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress peaceful gatherings of Americans protesting his policies? “Trump has threatened to do all this and more, and sees no need to seek approval from the nation's elected legislature before putting troops in harm's way,” he wrote.
Republican Senator Mike Lee initially questioned the legal justification for the operation. However, after a telephone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the operation, he stated that the move was “probably falls within the president's authority arising from Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution regarding the protection of U.S. personnel against actual or imminent attack.”
U.S. President Donald Trump with (from left) White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a conference at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026.Jim Watson/AFP / AFP
Beyond the unclear legal rationale, several Democrats said the move represented a sea change in the position of administration officials who they argued that regime change was not the ultimate goal the administration's aggressive military campaign in Latin America.
“A few weeks ago, Secretaries Rubio and [Pete] Hegseth looked every senator in the eye and said this is not about regime change. I didn't believe them then, and now we see that they blatantly lied to Congress” — said Democratic Senator Andy Kim on
“It goes against the will of the American people.”
Meanwhile, Senator Ruben Gallego, a war veteran who served in Iraq as an infantryman in 2005, wrote on X on Saturday that “The Americans didn't ask for this” He also wondered what would happen next to this South American country, asking: “who rules Venezuela now?”
A December Quinnipiac survey found Americans overwhelmingly oppose military action against Venezuelaand only 25 percent respondents were in favor of intervention in this country. Even the White House strategy of targeting boats carrying alleged drug traffickers has proven widely unpopular.
“I fought in the most difficult battles of the Iraq War,” Gallego wrote. “I saw my brothers die, I saw civilians caught in the crossfire, all because of an unjustified war. Regardless of the outcome, we should not start this war in Venezuela.”
Democratic House member Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who co-chairs the Congressional Caucus for Democracy in Venezuela and represents South Florida's sizable Venezuelan immigrant population, supported the decision to capture Maduro. She called his capture “good news” for Venezuela but argued that Trump should have involved Congress before carrying out the attack.
“The failure of Congress to engage before taking this action risks maintaining an illegitimate regime in Venezuela,” Wasserman Schultz emphasized in a statement.
Other Democrats expressed stronger opposition to the administration's military actions.
“Millions of Americans voted in the last presidential election to end frivolous conflicts and unnecessary foreign wars,” Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez, R-Mo., D-N.Y., said in a statement. “This escalation of hostilities against Venezuela and the capture of a foreign leader without congressional approval is contrary to the will of the American peoplewho elected the president.
Hawkish Republican senator Lindsey Graham responded to X's critics of the operation, who – as he said – “focus on absurd legal theories” and “are practically not engaged in the fight for freedom.”
“To the pathetically weak and hand-wringing liberal Democrats who seem to accept the drug caliphate in our backyard, centered on Venezuela: get a grip of yourself,” he wrote.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
