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‘Iraq 2.0’: Democrats seethe at Trump’s surprise Venezuela strike

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Democrats are furious over President Donald Trump’s overnight strike in Venezuela.

The president’s latest show of force on the world stage, which Trump says saw the U.S. military capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, quickly united rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers behind one message: They say the White House illegally bypassed Congress and has no plan for the chaotic aftermath of war.

“Congress did not authorize this war,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) wrote on X. “Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.”

Trump announced the strike in an early morning post on Truth Social Saturday, touching off a wave of praise from ideologically aligned members of his party — and fierce criticism from Democrats.

Notably, the top Democratic congressional leaders were not among the first to react. Instead, rank-and-file lawmakers took the lead in sharing their anger over Trump’s decision to topple a foreign leader by military force without asking lawmakers for authorization first.

One of the few Democrats in a key leadership position to speak out quickly Saturday was Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He said in a statement that the administration needed to “immediately brief Congress on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

“Maduro is an illegitimate ruler,” Himes wrote. “But I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without Congressional authorization, nor have I heard a strategy for the day after and how we will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos.”

Trump addressed the emerging Democratic criticism in a Fox News interview Saturday morning where he said “all they do is complain.”

“They should say, ‘Great job,'” he said. “They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”

Congress has not authorized military action against Venezuela, and lawmakers have been split for months on the legality of the Trump administration’s strikes against suspected drug smuggling vessels in the waters off Latin America and a potential move to oust Maduro. Republicans have fended off several Democratic-led efforts to require Trump to seek approval from Congress before attacking Venezuela.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah initially questioned the legal justification for the operation. But after a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the operation, the Utah senator said the move “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.”

In addition to the murky legal justification, several Democrats said the move is an about-face for administration officials who they said argued regime change wasn’t the end goal of the administration’s aggressive military campaign in Latin America.

“Secretaries Rubio and [Pete] Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said on X. “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a combat veteran who deployed to Iraq as an infantryman in 2005, wrote on X Saturday that “the American people did not ask for this.”

And he wondered aloud about what comes next for the South American country, asking on X, “so who is in charge of Venezuela now?”

A December Quinnipiac poll found that Americans overwhelmingly oppose military action against Venezuela, with just 25 percent of respondents saying they supported an intervention inside the country. Even the White House’s strategy of targeting boats with alleged drug traffickers proved broadly unpopular.

“I fought in some of the hardest battles of the Iraq War,” Gallego wrote. “Saw my brothers die, saw civilians being caught in the crossfire all for an unjustified war. No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who is a co-chair of the Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus and represents a significant population of Venezuelan immigrants in South Florida, signaled agreement with the move to oust Maduro. She called his capture “welcome news” for Venezuela but argued Trump should have involved Congress before conducting the attack.

“The absence of congressional involvement prior to this action risks the continuation of the illegitimate Venezuelan regime,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.

Other Democrats voiced stronger opposition to the administration’s military moves.

“Millions of Americans voted in the last Presidential election to end frivolous conflicts and unnecessary foreign wars,” said Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M), an Armed Services Committee member, in a statement. “This escalation of hostilities against Venezuela and the capture of a foreign leader without congressional authorization goes against the will of the Americans who put the president in power.”

Measures to rein in Trump on Venezuela prior to the attack narrowly failed in the House and in the Senate for lack of GOP support, but could soon resurface. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) have promised to force another vote on their measure to restrict Trump, which could occur when Congress returns next week.

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Congress

House Democrats introduce alternative war powers resolution

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Half a dozen moderate House Democrats have introduced their own war powers resolution as the chamber barrels towards a floor vote later this week on a bipartisan measure to curb President Donald Trump’s use of force in Iran.

It’s a sign of how some Democrats are struggling to reconcile their opposition to the Trump administration’s military action with a desire to appear hawkish on national security — even in a largely symbolic capacity.

The new proposed resolution from the six lawmakers would call for an end to military operations in Iran within 30 days unless Congress provides authorization for use of military force or a declaration of war. In contrast, the resolution that is being forced for consideration Thursday from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would require the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iran.

The co-sponsors of the alternative resolution are Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Jared Golden of Maine, alongside Reps. Jim Costa and Jimmy Panetta of California.

The Massie-Khanna resolution has little chance of becoming law, even if it makes it through the House — which is no guarantee. Still, there’s pressure on Democrats to take a unified stance in support of the bipartisan proposal and against the Trump administration’s actions, with Democratic leadership and ranking members of key committees urging a “yes” vote to rein in the president.

Asked about the new war powers resolution from members of his caucus, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Tuesday news conference said he had not yet seen the legislative text.

“Our focus is on the resolution that will be on the floor this week,” the New York Democrat said.

Jeffries also said House Democrats will discuss the matter Wednesday afternoon, following an all-member House briefing scheduled for Tuesday evening with Trump administration officials on the unfolding situation in Iran.

“We’ll continue to make the strongest possible case,” Jeffries said. “There is going to be very strong Democratic support for the War Powers Resolution across the ideological spectrum.”

Bipartisan members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Gottheimer is a co-chair, have discussed the matter during their own meetings in recent days. Many have shared concerns that the Massie-Khanna resolution is overly broad and would hamstring the administration regarding key national security efforts, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

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Mike Rounds seeks Pentagon briefing on Anthropic spat

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A top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a briefing from the Pentagon on its escalating feud with AI startup Anthropic, which has prompted the Trump administration to threaten to declare the company a supply chain risk.

“I’ll withhold judgment until I’ve had my briefing,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chair of the panel’s cybersecurity subcommittee, told reporters Tuesday, in response to questions from Blue Light News about the unprecedented move.

A supply chain risk designation would result in Anthropic being blacklisted from government contracts — something typically reserved for firms with ties to U.S. foreign adversaries. The technology company is expected to challenge such a designation in court.

The Defense Department and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Negotiations with the Pentagon over use of Anthropic’s AI systems hit a roadblock last week when the firm refused to lift restrictions on the military’s unfettered access to its technology. The startup had sought to stop its systems from being used in fully autonomous weapons systems or for domestic surveillance.

President Donald Trump, roughly one hour before the deadline to meet the Pentagon’s demands, directed all federal agencies to cease use of Anthropic’s AI and declared a six-month phase-out period in a post on Truth Social. Trump threatened “major civil and criminal consequences,” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an X post accused the company of endangering national security.

Last week, key defense policy lawmakers on Blue Light News urged a ceasefire as tensions between Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei escalated. Top Senate defense appropriators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), as well as Senate Armed Services Committee leaders Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), sent a letter to the two men expressing “concern over the escalatory direction of negotiations between the Department of Defense and Anthropic.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of his term in 2027, also weighed in Tuesday, telling reporters: “They’re telling Anthropic that they should compromise their code of conduct to facilitate whatever it is Hegseth or somebody wants.” He added that this will give other AI upstarts the “green light” to cast aside imposing their own codes of conduct.

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Lutnick agrees to testify in House Oversight’s Epstein probe

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has “proactively agreed to appear voluntarily” before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Chair James Comer announced Tuesday.

“I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement. “I look forward to his testimony.”

A date for Lutnick’s deposition is not yet known.

Lutnick has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes, and he continues to have the White House’s support. But he has faced calls for his resignation from Democrats after the Epstein files released by the Justice Department revealed the full extent of his relationship with the disgraced financier. Lutnick had previously suggested that he cut ties prior to Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a prostitute. The Commerce secretary later conceded the two men had lunch together following those charges.

Shortly before Comer’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that Lutnick would cooperate with the panel, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) shared her intention to force a vote to subpoena Lutnick during a House Oversight hearing scheduled for Wednesday on an unrelated topic. While committee Republicans have also expressed a desire to hear from Lutnick, his agreement to testify suggests that most GOP members would prefer to avoid having to take a politically uncomfortable vote to compel testimony from a high ranking Trump administration official — plus hand Democrats victory.

On Monday, the Oversight Committee released footage of a deposition with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where Mace accused Lutnick of operating as a “go-between between [Hillary Clinton] and Jeffrey Epstein raising money for [her].” Clinton has said her work with Lutnick was around the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, in which Lutnick’s company lost many employees.

Clinton said she never recalled meeting Epstein and has not been accused of wrongdoing.

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