When White House chief of staff Susie Wiles recently spoke to Vanity Fair, she conceded that the Trump administration would need congressional approval before launching military strikes on Venezuelan soil. Around the same time, however, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether he’d seek congressional authorization for any land attacks in Venezuela.
“I don’t have to tell them,” the president replied, referring to lawmakers.
After U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, it was clear that Wiles’ position had lost out to her boss’. In fact, the White House conceded that it deliberately left Congress in the dark.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that some lawmakers were informed after the mission was completed, adding, “This was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on.”
That is a tough sell. Modern administrations of both parties have recognized the importance of coordinating with Congress’ “Gang of Eight” — a bipartisan group consisting of Republican and Democratic leaders from both chambers and both Intelligence Committees — which has a sterling track record of not leaking sensitive information. Rubio, a former member of this “gang,” surely knows that, but he kept them in the dark anyway and then peddled a dubious case to the press.
But just as notable are claims from several congressional Democrats that the Republican administration, when it wasn’t hiding information from lawmakers, was offering assurances that proved false. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for example, said in a statement on Saturday, “The administration has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela. Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans.”
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts similarly told CNN, “When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, ‘Are you going to invade the country?’ We were told no. ‘Do you plan to put troops on the ground?’ We were told no. ‘Do you intend regime change in Venezuela?’ We were told no. So in a sense, we have been briefed — we’ve just been completely lied to.”
“Rubio said that there were not any intentions to invade Venezuela,” Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat, told The Washington Post. “He absolutely lied to Congress.”
The secretary of state’s defense amounts to a legalistic parsing of the words “invasion” and “regime change,” but for an administration that didn’t have any credibility to spare, this makes an awful situation worse.
As for the next steps, there are some briefings lined up for key lawmakers — whether Democratic attendees will believe their briefers remains to be seen — but as members return to Capitol Hill after the holiday break, there’s also a key vote lined up.
Politico reported on Saturday: Sen. Tim Kaine said he will force a vote next week to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval in the wake of President Donald Trump’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Kaine, who has so far been unable to get Congress to stop Trump’s Latin American military operations, called the move to oust Maduro without congressional approval ‘a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate’ the Western Hemisphere. The vote will obviously be too late to stop the military strikes that have already happened, but if approved, the resolution would force the White House to seek congressional approval before further attacks, which the president has already said are a distinct possibility. Politico’s report added, “The vote will also be a key test of support among Republicans for Trump’s aggressive move. While previous efforts to restrict Trump have failed for lack of GOP support, the administration’s actions could sway some Republicans who have expressed concerns about heightened tensions with Venezuela.” Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
