WASHINGTON — A bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a war powers resolution aimed at preventing the Trump administration from engaging in military hostilities in or against Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization. The resolution, led by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), comes amid growing concerns over the administration’s military buildup around Venezuela to fight alleged drug traffickers.
The move follows President Donald Trump’s social media directive last Saturday declaring the airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” to be “closed in its entirety,” leading some to fear a war was imminent.
“Donald Trump claimed he would put America first — instead he’s trying to drag us into an illegal war in Venezuela,” said McGovern in a statement. “Whatever this is about, it has nothing to do with stopping drugs. Trump just pardoned the former President of Honduras (Juan Orlando Hernández) who was convicted of sending cocaine to the U.S. And last year he pardoned a guy (Changpeng Zhao) who brought fentanyl in from China via the dark web. To me, this appears to be all about creating a pretext for regime change. And I believe Congress has a duty to step in and assert our constitutional authority. No more illegal boat strikes, and no unauthorized war in Venezuela," he added.
Massie said the Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn’t attacked the US. "Congress has the sole power to declare war against Venezuela. Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution," he added.
Castro said Trump has put the US “at the brink of a war” with Venezuela without a debate or vote in Congress. “This resolution will ensure that every member of the House is on the record about sending service members to a war that Americans do not want.”
Additional cosponsors of the resolution include Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), signaling broader Democratic support for reasserting congressional oversight. The measure invokes the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to hostilities and limits such actions to 60 days without authorization. If passed, it would prohibit funding for any military operations against Venezuela unless Congress declares war or enacts a specific authorization.
The introduction of this resolution marks a significant escalation in bipartisan pushback against Trump's foreign policy in Latin America. Since taking office in January 2025, the administration has intensified a campaign against what it calls "narcoterrorists" operating from Venezuela, including a series of naval strikes on suspected drug boats off the country’s coast. These operations, which began in September 2025, have resulted in over 80 deaths, according to reports from The New York Times and Reuters. Critics, including human rights groups, have labeled the strikes "extrajudicial killings" and questioned their legality under international law.
Trump's airspace declaration, posted on Truth Social on November 29, 2025, amplified these fears. "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” the president wrote, without specifying enforcement mechanisms. The Federal Aviation Administration had already issued a warning earlier that month about risks in Venezuelan airspace due to heightened military activity and potential GPS interference. Venezuela's Foreign Ministry swiftly denounced the order as a "colonialist threat" that violates international law, emphasizing that no foreign power can dictate its sovereign airspace. Despite the rhetoric, commercial flights have continued, though some international carriers rerouted to avoid the region, impacting routes to other South American destinations.
The timing of the resolution is no coincidence. It follows a string of prior congressional efforts to rein in Trump's actions, many of which failed along party lines. In October 2025, a bipartisan Senate resolution to restrain military operations against Venezuelan drug traffickers was defeated 48-51. A November attempt to block further strikes also faltered, despite calls for greater transparency on White House decision-making. Earlier, in September, Progressive Caucus leaders like Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced a similar measure to terminate unauthorized hostilities, citing violations of U.S. and international law.
McGovern's hypocrisy charge strikes at the heart of the administration's narrative. Just last week, on November 28, 2025, Trump announced his intent to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted in 2024 of facilitating the importation of over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. and sentenced to 45 years in prison. The formal pardon was issued on December 2, freeing Hernández and drawing sharp rebukes from Democrats and even some Republicans. "Releasing Mr. Hernández flies in the face of your stated aim to fight narco-trafficking," Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) wrote in a letter to Trump. Hernández's case, built by U.S. prosecutors over years, portrayed him as the architect of a "cocaine superhighway" to America, involving bribes from cartels like Sinaloa. Trump justified the pardon by claiming it corrected a "political prosecution" from the Biden era, but experts like former DEA chief Mike Vigil called it evidence of a "charade" in the administration's drug war.
Compounding the irony, Trump's October 2025 pardon of Changpeng Zhao, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has fueled accusations of selective enforcement. Zhao, known as "CZ," pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti-money-laundering violations that allowed criminals, including terrorist groups like Hamas and al-Qaida, to move billions through his platform. He served four months in prison and was fined $50 million personally, with Binance paying $4.3 billion in penalties. The pardon, announced on October 23, came amid Binance's business ties to the Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto venture, which has generated millions since the 2024 election. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) decried it as "corruption," noting Zhao's lobbying efforts post-conviction. In a November 3 "60 Minutes" interview, Trump claimed ignorance of Zhao, saying, "I don’t know who he is," despite evidence of the crypto mogul's campaign for clemency.
These pardons have eroded credibility for Trump's Venezuela strategy, which frames Nicolás Maduro's government as a hub for drug cartels like Tren de Aragua and alliances with FARC, ELN, and Hezbollah. A recent op-ed by former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios warned of the regime's infiltration of U.S. institutions and use of election software like Smartmatic—developed in Venezuela—to manipulate votes, including exports to the U.S. Carvajal, now a defector, urged Trump to intensify defenses against this "narco-terrorist apparatus."
Yet, the administration's pressure tactics have yielded mixed results. Following the airspace declaration, Venezuela briefly halted U.S. deportation flights carrying over 13,000 migrants repatriated in 2025. Maduro announced on December 2 that flights would resume at Trump's request, a diplomatic concession amid escalating tensions. Analysts suggest this reflects Maduro's balancing act: defying U.S. rhetoric while avoiding full confrontation that could invite invasion.
Internationally, the moves have strained alliances. Allies like Colombia and Brazil have expressed unease over potential refugee surges from conflict, while China and Russia—Maduro's backers—have condemned the U.S. actions as imperialistic. Domestically, public opinion polls show little appetite for war; a November 2025 Pew survey found 62% of Americans oppose military intervention in Venezuela.
The resolution now faces a steep path. McGovern can force a House vote after 15 days, but Republican leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, has signaled resistance. A parallel Senate effort by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Democrats aims to mirror the House measure. As debates intensify, this clash highlights enduring tensions over executive war powers, a debate tracing back to Vietnam and raging through Iraq and Syria.
For now, the resolution stands as a firewall against what McGovern calls "reckless escalation." Whether it holds—or crumbles under partisan pressure—will test the boundaries of America's democratic checks in an era of unilateral foreign adventures. With Venezuela's oil reserves rivaling Saudi Arabia's and its strategic Caribbean position, the stakes extend far beyond drug interdiction, touching on energy security, migration, and U.S. hegemony in the hemisphere.
