President Trump bombed Venezuela and detained its president without informing Congress or the Senate, keeping a deadly secret with only high-ranking members of his Cabinet.
Trump, 79, announced his military operation in the South American country in a wild 4 a.m. EST Truth Social post, where he also said its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, had been captured.
His post sparked confusion, even amongst his allies—busting open the fact that he had not told Congress of his actions.
Those known to be in the circle which ordered the strikes were Trump, JD Vance—who flew from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Palm Beach, Florida on Friday—Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio.
Mike Lee, the Republican U.S. Senator for Utah, made clear that there was no notification to members of Congress by using X to raise questions not long after Trump’s social media declaration.
“I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” he said.
The Trumpy senator then said on X about an hour later that he had just spoken to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who appeared to have appeased him. “Just got off the phone with @SecRubio. He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.“
He continued: “This action 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. Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me apprised.”
Article II makes the President Commander in Chief of the armed forces. In this position, Trump can begin military operations without prior approval from Congress or the Senate, but only in certain circumstances and typically on a limited basis–war is an entirely different power.
Since Sept. 18 2001, seven days after the 9/11 attacks, presidents have used the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by both houses of Congress to pursue war in Afghanistan and Iraq and military actions around the world as part of the “war on terror.” There is no parallel authorization for Trump’s actions in Venezuela.
And the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee was not informed before the strikes on several sites across Venezuela that have reportedly left an unspecified number of people dead, according to officials in the country.
A source with knowledge of the operation told CNN that Trump administration officials did not inform Congressional committees, including the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
Before he was hooked by U.S. operatives, Venezuela’s left-wing dictator accused Donald Trump of a naked attempt to grab his country’s vast oil reserves. “The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, by attempting to forcibly break the political independence of the Nation,” Maduro said. “They will not succeed.”
Trump has wanted to arrest Maduro and try him in the U.S. since his first term. In 2020, he was charged in a U.S. court in absentia for “narco-terrorism,” conspiracy to import cocaine, and related charges. Trump later put a $50 million arrest bounty on his head.
Trump said his Truth Social post early Saturday that Maduro had been captured “in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement,” so it is likely he will face similar charges.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X that his arrest has brought “a new dawn for Venezuela.” “The tyrant is gone. He will now — finally — face justice for his crimes,” Landau wrote.
Trump, meanwhile, was happy with the operation even if it risks rankling lawmakers who were not informed in advance. Trump bragged to the New York Times that “a lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people” were involved in the operation. “It was a brilliant operation, actually,” he added, declining to clarify whether he had obtained congressional approval.
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