1. United States
2. Ill.
3. Letter

I am writing to condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent attack on Venezuela and the continued pattern of unchecked executive aggression that made it possible. Through your inaction, Congress has allowed the presidency to function as a de facto dictatorship. When the legislative branch abdicates its constitutional responsibility, it enables a single individual to threaten, attack, and destabilize sovereign nations without authorization, accountability, or consequence. The United States cannot claim to stand for democracy, international law, or human rights while permitting the invasion of foreign countries and the kidnapping or attempted removal of their leaders. These actions are not defensive. They are not lawful. They are not in the interest of the American people. They are acts of imperial overreach that place the world on a more dangerous footing. Threats to seize territory, overthrow governments, or dominate sovereign nations must be treated as what they are: violations of international norms and direct challenges to the constitutional order of the United States. Congress alone has the authority to restrain this behavior, and Congress alone will be responsible if it continues. Silence is not neutrality. Delay is not caution. Failure to act is consent. I expect my representatives to publicly oppose unlawful military action, to reassert Congress’s war powers, and to take immediate steps to prevent further escalation. History will record whether you chose to uphold the Constitution—or surrendered it out of fear or political convenience. The American people did not authorize this. The world does not deserve this. And Congress must not allow it to continue.