This week, Capitol Hill is buzzing with talk about the War Powers Act. The Senate has advanced a resolution that could block President Trump from using military force against Venezuela unless Congress gives the green light. Now, amid this political whirlwind, President Trump is making his stance clear: he’s not a fan of the War Powers Act. He sees it as unconstitutional and feels it undermines U.S. security. It’s almost as if he’s telling Congress to butt out while he handles business as usual.
Enter Senator Dave McCormick, who happens to sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He asserts that the President acted well within his constitutional rights, particularly regarding an imminent threat to national security. Sure, members of the Senate are allowed their opinions, but McCormick seems to question the sanity of his colleagues who support this resolution. Ultimately, he believes cooler heads will prevail and seems rather certain the President won’t sign this into law, even if it dances its way through both the House and Senate.
There’s a mix of conviction and a bit of head-scratching as Senators like Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski have voted to move this resolution forward. Senator McCormick doesn’t claim to read minds, but he insists that debate will shed light on the situation. He compares the current Venezuela operation to past military actions, such as the one in Panama, reminding everyone how Congress stood by President Bush back then. According to McCormick, it’s the same scenario, only the political players are bickering over who gets to call the shots.
The President’s ability to respond quickly to threats is worth its weight in gold – or at least that’s what his supporters believe. In this particular case, his powers weren’t just for show; they allowed American forces to quickly swoop in and deal with Venezuelan leader Maduro in under an hour. The notion that a slow-moving legislative body could get in on such split-second decisions is laughable to those in favor of the President’s actions. Apparently, Congress has the leakiness of a colander when it comes to secrecy, and one can’t have military plans spilling into the public before they’re set to roll.
As the U.S. moves into “Phase Two” with Venezuela, there are big plans on the horizon. The United States aims to staunch the flow of drugs, keep out unwanted adversaries like Iran and Russia, and unlock Venezuela’s untapped oil reserves. In other words, turning the current chaos into a win for both Venezuela’s citizens and the U.S. economy. The President is seen as a hero by many Venezuelans, and according to his supporters, he’s got a solid strategy that keeps both hemispheric stability and American interests in mind. It’s all about leverage, military might, and the almighty oil—a recipe for whether this political tug-of-war ends in a triumph or another congressional kerfuffle.
