1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Your silence is not neutrality. It is consent. At moments when the Constitution is tested, history does not ask whether lawmakers were polite, cautious, or politically convenient. It asks whether they acted. On the issue of President Trump’s reckless posture toward Venezuela—including threats of force, coercive actions taken without meaningful congressional authorization, and open contempt for international law—Congress has largely failed that test. The Constitution is unambiguous: the power to declare war and authorize military action rests with Congress, not the executive acting on impulse or political grievance. Yet when the Trump administration escalated tensions, floated or pursued unilateral actions, and treated foreign policy as a personal vendetta rather than a matter of law, Congress responded with delay, deflection, or deafening silence. That silence has consequences. When Congress refuses to assert its authority, it does more than abandon Venezuela or international norms—it incentivizes authoritarian behavior at home. Every unchecked action teaches this administration that laws are optional, oversight is toothless, and democratic institutions will fold rather than confront abuse. Complacency does not preserve stability; it erodes it. You were not elected to be spectators to executive overreach. You were elected to stop it. Moral outrage after the fact is not leadership. Statements of “concern” without action are not accountability. If Congress will not defend its own constitutional powers when they are openly disregarded, then it signals to this administration—and future ones—that authoritarian behavior will be tolerated as long as it is loud, aggressive, and politically convenient. History will not remember how carefully you hedged. It will remember whether you upheld the rule of law when it mattered. Do your job.