The dramatic capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has exposed a profound and deliberate weakening of the United States Congress under Donald Trump's second term, according to a detailed analysis. The operation, which saw Maduro and his wife Cilia seized in a raid, was executed without prior consultation with senior lawmakers, marking a stark departure from established convention.
A Deliberate Snub to Congressional Oversight
Far from seeking authorisation, the Trump administration did not even acknowledge Congress's right to be informed, keeping its most senior members in the dark until the mission to detain the Venezuelan strongman was already underway. Notification was only given to the so-called 'gang of eight' – the top Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House, plus intelligence committee heads – after the operation had begun.
This represents a conspicuous break with recent precedent, even for Trump. During his first presidency in January 2020, the administration punctiliously consulted the same group before the targeted strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani, according to officials involved.
Rendering the War Powers Act 'Obsolete'
The audacious move appears to have rendered the 1973 War Powers Resolution effectively obsolete. Enacted after the Vietnam War to curb an 'imperial presidency', the act requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops into hostilities and to withdraw them after 60 days without congressional authorisation.
Long before the Maduro operation, Trump signalled he considered such limits null and void. He issued executive orders declaring Maduro and his associates 'narco-terrorists', potentially subjecting them to legal frameworks from the post-9/11 'war on terror'. The administration has also conducted an estimated 35 lethal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats since last September, killing at least 115 people, and deployed a vast military force including a US aircraft carrier off Venezuela's coast, all without seeking congressional approval.
Democratic Fury and Republican Acquiescence
The disdain from Trump and allies like Senator Marco Rubio was unmistakable. Rubio defended withholding information, telling reporters that lawmakers could not be trusted not to leak details. 'It's just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say: 'Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days,'' he stated.
Stung by this disregard, congressional Democrats reacted with fury. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of a 'flagrant disregard for the Article 1 war powers of Congress'. Senator Tim Kaine, who recently tabled a war powers resolution on Venezuela, warned, 'Where will this go next?... To seize Greenland or the Panama canal?'
Yet their indignation carries an air of impotence. Republican criticism has been muted, with notable figures changing their stance. Utah Senator Mike Lee initially voiced reservations but, after speaking to Rubio, argued Maduro's arrest fell within 'the president's inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution'.
Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Bernie Sanders, contrasted this with Lee's previous defence of congressional war powers during debates over Yemen. 'It's been clear for a while that he, along with many other Republicans, have decided that their political careers depend on staying in the good graces of Donald Trump,' Duss said.
A Broken System with No Easy Fix
Duss argues the instruments available to Congress under the War Powers Resolution are no longer fit for purpose and the legislation needs rewriting. However, any such bill would likely be vetoed by Trump. Short of a foreign policy disaster in Venezuela shifting Republican opinion, the only hope for reform may lie in the future election of a sympathetic Democratic president.
'That is a situation unfortunately that I think the framers of the constitution did not really anticipate,' Duss concluded. 'Given that so many of the kind of separation of powers and the checks and balances presume that you're going to have leaders who care about the law.' The Maduro raid has laid bare a constitutional crisis where those checks and balances are rapidly eroding.
