Kaine Calls Trump’s Military Move In Venezuela 'Unauthorized,' Pushes Bipartisan War Powers Vote

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, sharply criticized what he described as an "unauthorized" U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the arrest of its leader, Nicolás Maduro. Kaine urged Congress to reassert its constitutional role over matters of war and peace.

"President Trump’s unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro—however terrible he is—is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere," Kaine said in a statement.

Kaine, who is sponsoring a bipartisan war powers resolution designed to block further U.S. military actions toward Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization, said Democrats will force a vote on presidential war powers next week. The resolution would prohibit U.S. armed forces from engaging in hostilities within or against Venezuela absent clear congressional approval.

Bipartisan Coalition

Kaine is working with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to advance the measure. Kaine emphasized the need for congressional oversight, saying, "It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy and trade."

Broader Concerns

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, echoed concerns in a separate statement. Warner argued that the Constitution vests the gravest decisions about military force in Congress and warned that unilateral U.S. action could have dangerous international consequences.

"Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike," Warner said. "If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan’s leadership?"

Kaine also invoked a broader civic warning: "We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape." The forthcoming Senate vote will test lawmakers' appetite to reclaim oversight over presidential military authority and set a precedent for how the U.S. responds to foreign regimes.