A group of House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a measure that would bar President Trump from continuing his military offensive against drug cartels without express approval from Congress.
The measure faces steep odds in the Republican-controlled House, where Republican leaders are likely to throw up procedural obstacles, aiming to shield their members from taking a politically fraught vote on whether to restrict Mr. Trump or grant him broad authority for the operations.
It comes after two failed efforts by Senate Democrats to force similar action in that chamber.
“Congress has to stand up for what is our oversight and our responsibilities, and that’s the War Powers,” said Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee who is leading the effort in the House. “It is Congress’s War Powers prerogative, and Congress has to conduct the real oversight on the administration’s policies.”
He was referring to the War Powers Act, a 1973 law aimed at limiting a president’s power to enter an armed conflict without the consent of Congress, which requires that such resolutions be considered and voted upon under expedited procedures.
The White House has described the strikes, which have so far killed more than 80 people, as part of a campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels that it accuses of smuggling narcotics into the United States. But some legal experts have condemned the military campaign as illegal, and lawmakers say they have been given insufficient evidence about the nature of the threat or the legal basis for the use of force.
“There is no evidence that the people being killed are an imminent threat to the United States of America” Mr. Meeks said in an interview, calling the campaign a combination of the “worst excesses of the war of drugs and the war on terror.”
The measure would require the removal of “United States Armed Forces from hostilities with any presidentially designated terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere,” unless Congress authorizes a use of military force or issues a formal declaration of war.
Representatives Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat of the Armed Services Committee, and Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, are joining Mr. Meeks in leading the effort. They are also backed by Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Jason Crow of Colorado.
Republicans leaders have sought to cut off Democrats’ ability to bring up similar measures that would allow them to force votes to challenge moves by the president, including a procedural move that blocked a push to vote against Mr. Trump’s tariffs policy.
Mr. Johnson could deploy the tactic again to block Democrats from forcing a war powers vote that could undermine the presidents military campaign. One of Mr. Johnson’s predecessors, former Speaker Paul Ryan, did so during Mr. Trump’s first term to block a vote against continued U.S. strikes in Yemen.
If such a move were deployed, Mr. Meeks said he would turn to a discharge petition, a legislative tool that forces a bill to the floor if a majority of members sign on to the effort.
Some Republicans have expressed concerns over the administration’s reluctance to work with Congress as it undertakes a deadly military campaign in both the Caribbean and Pacific oceans.
“If we’re going to go to war with Venezuela, the president needs to make his case, and they’ve done zero on this,” Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, said in an interview on CNN last week. “If he wants to continue the operations on these boats, he should get authorization.”
Despite bipartisan calls in both the House and Senate to seek permission from Congress, the Trump administration has intensified its military pressure campaign against Venezuela.
On Sunday, the Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean and the White House announced that it would designate a Venezuelan group as a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. strikes in the region have killed a dozen people over the last week.
On Monday, Mr. Trump was asked about the possibility of deploying American troops on the ground in Venezuela. He said that he doesn’t “rule out anything,” adding: “We just have to take care of Venezuela.”
Robert Jimison covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on defense issues and foreign policy.
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