Bipartisan House Resolution Seeks to Block Trump War With Venezuela

With President Donald Trump mulling military action lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a war powers resolution to block strikes on Venezuela Sponsored by Rep Jim McGovern D-Mass the ranking member of the powerful House Rules Committee the bipartisan bill would prohibit Trump from launching hostilities within or against Venezuela without congressional approval The measure was initially introduced by four Democrats on Monday On Tuesday the office of Republican Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky stated he will cosponsor it This new bipartisan push in the House sends a clear signal to President Trump This new bipartisan push in the House sends a clear signal to President Trump and to the war hawks around him that Congress is prepared to stand against any reckless march to war stated Cavan Kharrazian a senior program advisor at the group Demand Progress I think even the prospect of members being subject to a population on-the-record vote on whether to block a new war carries considerable political weight and can help deter escalation Democrats typically hold little sway in the GOP-dominated House but the law under which the resolution is brought gives them a pathway to force a floor vote There is a chance however the resolution may have been brought too late to put House members on the record McGovern s introduction starts a -day clock after which he can attempt to force a House floor vote but Trump may have acted against Venezuela by then The House statute comes a month after a similar measure in the U S Senate fell short by a scant votes thanks to opposition from Republican senators Only two Republicans broke ranks in the upper chamber to attempt to prevent strikes The lead sponsor of the Senate measure Sen Tim Kaine D-Va stated over the weekend that he would re-introduce another war powers resolution in the coming days His office did not without delay respond to a request for comment on the timing McGovern previously cosponsored a broader resolution along with Rep Ilhan Omar D-Minn that would block military action against both Venezuela and transnational criminal organizations which would also prevent attacks on alleged drug smuggling boats The more narrowly drawn resolution introduced Monday however could garner added encouragement from Republicans given the broader unpopularity of conflict with Venezuela Both the administration and members of Congress know that new wars are extremely unpopular with the American people explained Kharrazian of Demand Progress Americans oppose taking military action in Venezuela by a - percent margin according to a CBS News poll conducted November - Separately the Democratic ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep Gregory Meeks D-N Y introduced a resolution last month aimed at blocking further boat strikes That resolution could be ready for a floor vote by mid-December according to a committee spokesperson Meeks spoke last month with conservative Venezuelan opposition leader Mar a Corina Machado who has been an outspoken supporter of the Trump administration s aggressive military posture toward Venezuelan President Nicol s Maduro A House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesperson disclosed that was not a sign that Meeks supports military action against Maduro The Venezuelan people decisively voted against Maduro last year and Mr Meeks strongly supports a democratic transition the spokesperson commented However he believes that any U S military action inside Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization would be both unlawful and disastrous As for a Venezuela-related war powers resolution Ranking Member Meeks would patronage any tool that reasserts congress constitutional prerogatives on matters of war and peace The post Bipartisan House Resolution Seeks to Block Trump War With Venezuela appeared first on The Intercept