1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my urgent alarm about the Trump administration's unauthorized military strikes on Venezuela on January 3, 2025, and the capture of President Maduro and his wife to charge them in the United States for drug trafficking. Congress has provided no authorization for this military action, and these aggressive acts of war demand immediate congressional intervention. Congress must return from recess immediately to address this constitutional crisis. The administration has launched military strikes and conducted what amounts to a kidnapping of a foreign head of state without any congressional approval. This represents a flagrant violation of the Constitution's allocation of war powers to Congress and sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to broader regional conflict. Regardless of any allegations against President Maduro, the United States cannot unilaterally invade a sovereign nation, conduct military operations, and capture its leader without congressional authorization. This is precisely the type of executive overreach that the Constitution's framers sought to prevent by vesting war powers in Congress rather than the executive branch alone. The timing of these strikes during congressional recess appears calculated to avoid oversight and accountability. Every day that Congress remains in recess while military operations continue in Venezuela is a day that the administration operates without constitutional checks on its power. The potential for escalation, retaliation, and broader conflict grows with each passing hour. I urge you to demand that Congress return from recess immediately to address this crisis. Upon return, Congress must pass a war powers resolution to block all unauthorized military action in Venezuela, hold emergency hearings to investigate the legal basis for these strikes and the capture of President Maduro, and pursue accountability measures including impeachment proceedings against those who authorized these illegal acts of war. Our constitutional system of government depends on congressional oversight of military action. I need you to act now to prevent further unauthorized aggression and restore the rule of law.