I was horrified to wake up this morning to news that President Trump ordered our military to attack Venezuela and kidnap President Maduro. There is so much wrong here that it is hard to decide where to begin, so in no particular order:
• President Trump has been signaling his intent to undermine President Maduro and take military action against Venezuela for some time. Members of his administration have testified to Congress about his intentions and have claimed that we were not engaged in regime change in Venezuela. From where I sit it appears that the Trump administration lied to Congress and is again ignoring the Constitutional role of Congress and the War Powers Act.
• When the President is allowed to run roughshod over Congress and the Constitution it threatens the very foundation of our system of government and greatly increases the chances of making horrible foreign policy mistakes. Those are the kind of mistakes that are paid for in the lives of our people in uniform, and which cost resources that could have be used to improve the quality of life for our citizens and to solve problems around the world.
• I don't know if President Maduro's actions and policies represent a threat to legitimate US interests or not. But if they do, then it is very likely that they represent a threat that goes beyond the US and a far more productive move would have been to build a collation to address the problem.
This action will almost certainly further undermine the position of the US as a world leader and trustworthy ally. That will make both our troops and US citizens less safe everywhere in the world.
It is well past time for Congress to assert itself, to defend the Constitution as you have all sworn to do, and to demand that the Trump administration obey the Constitution and respect the separation of powers enshrined in it. Please do everything in your power to hold him to account and to offer guidance to your constituents for how to save our democracy before it is too late.
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