WASHINGTON—House Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Nov. 21 seeking to block funding for the use of U.S. military force in direct hostilities with Venezuela unless President Donald Trump and his administration first seek authorization from Congress.
Led by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), the legislation asserts Congress’s constitutional responsibility to declare wars and authorize military actions.
“The Constitution is not ambiguous here: Congress decides when this country goes to war, not the president,” Moulton said during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday.
“And this is not a war the American people want. We owe our troops better than this.”
Moulton was joined at the press conference by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.).
Since August, U.S. forces have been massing in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, which encompasses Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. Those forces have conducted at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats since September, in an effort known as Operation Southern Spear.
Trump has not ruled out the possibility of U.S. strikes on land-based targets or other military action against Venezuela specifically.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro faces federal charges in the United States for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. He denies the allegations.
Among the U.S. forces gathered in the Caribbean Sea are around 2,200 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. Moulton, a Marine veteran, questioned this deployment.
“Let’s be clear, the thousands of infantry Marines sitting on ships off the coast of Venezuela do not interdict boats. They do not conduct drone strikes,” he said.
“I know, because I’ve been a Marine on those amphibious assault ships for months. Our only purpose is for fighting on the ground.”
Senate Democrats have already sponsored two war powers resolutions seeking to constrain the Trump administration’s use of military force in the SOUTHCOM region without congressional authorization. The second of the two would have specifically blocked military action in Venezuela. Both war powers measures failed in the Republican-majority Senate.
In a statement of administration policy denouncing the second war powers resolution, the White House said the measure “fails to recognize the imminent national security threats posed by violent drug-trafficking cartels operating in and around the Caribbean Sea that have, in some cases, a connection or affiliation with the illegitimate Maduro regime, which the United States does not recognize as the government of Venezuela.”
Democrats Challenge Premise for Strikes
During their Friday press conference, the Democratic lawmakers also challenged the Trump administration’s case for striking alleged drug boats operating at sea.
Auchincloss, another Marine veteran, questioned the premise that Venezuela represents a significant transit point for the trafficking of fentanyl into the United States.
A still from footage of a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean on Nov. 6, 2025. (@SecWar/X)
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for more details about the quantity and type of illicit substances leaving Venezuela, which U.S. forces have targeted as part of Operation Southern Spear.
In an emailed statement, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly did not respond to the specific questions about the drugs potentially flowing from Venezuela, but defended the ongoing military campaign.
“All of these decisive strikes have been against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores, and the President will continue to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” Kelly said.
During their Friday press conference, the House Democrats noted recent reports that a senior military lawyer for SOUTHCOM has questioned the legal premise behind the lethal strikes taking place under Operation Southern Spear. Moulton said he would like to see that military attorney testify before Congress on the matter.
Vindman, who served in the U.S. Army, including as a legal adviser for the military, said, “'I was only following orders’ is not a valid excuse for committing war crimes.”
Thus far, the Trump administration has provided a handful of briefings on Operation Southern Spear to a select few lawmakers, including the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate committees overseeing the armed services, intelligence communities, and foreign relations.
This select group of lawmakers received a briefing on Nov. 5 concerning the legal justification for the military operations.
In comments to The Epoch Times last week, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) expressed support for the strikes and urged the Trump administration to provide greater transparency into its thinking behind the operations.
“I’m fine with what they’re doing down there, and I think that the lawyers that did that, talked about the legal basis, should do it publicly,” Rogers said.
Moulton said the reason the Trump administration hasn’t gone public with its rationale is that it doesn’t actually believe it has a strong case.
“I have a lot of respect for Chairman Rogers,” Moulton said. “I couldn’t disagree more strongly with his idea that this is a case the administration would want to share.”
