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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 legislation 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, said he will co-sponsor 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,” said Cavan Kharrazian, a senior policy adviser at the group Demand Progress. “I think even the prospect of members being subject to a public, on-the-record vote on whether to block a new war carries significant 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 15-day clock, after which he can attempt to force a House floor vote, but Trump may have acted against Venezuela by then.
The House legislation comes a month after a similar measure in the U.S. Senate fell short by a few 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., said over the weekend that he would reintroduce another war powers resolution in the coming days. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the timing.
McGovern previously co-sponsored 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 support 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,” said Kharrazian.
Americans oppose taking military action in Venezuela by a 70-30 percent margin, according to a CBS News poll conducted November 19-21.
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 María Corina Machado, who has been an outspoken supporter of the Trump administration’s aggressive military posture toward Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
A House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesperson said 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 said. “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 support any tool that reasserts Congress’ constitutional prerogatives on matters of war and peace.”
