Indian-origin US Congressman Ro Khanna has criticised President Donald Trump over the military action in Venezuela, calling it a “war of choice” aimed at regime change.
“Donald Trump betrayed his MAGA base today launching a war of choice to bring regime change in Venezuela,” Khanna wrote on X on Saturday, hours after Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were “captured” by US forces and are being brought to New York to face trial for drug-related charges.
Khanna said the US has repeatedly voted against “dumb wars” in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, but presidents continue to “bow to a foreign policy blob committed to militarism”.
“They get us entangled in conflicts abroad, while ignoring the lack of good jobs and high costs for Americans at home,” Khanna said, warning of the global precedent such actions could set.
“What will we say now if Xi Jinping wants to capture Lai of Taiwan or Vladimir Putin tries to capture Zelensky in Ukraine?” he wrote.
“The times call for a movement of the American people to stand against bloated defense budgets and warmongering,” he added, “We need statesmen who will heed the advice of Washington and our founders and invest in jobs, healthcare, childcare & education for our people.”
Democrats question Trump
Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton also questioned the legality and strategic planning behind the move.
“Congress did not authorize this war,” Moulton wrote on X. “Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.”
Jim Himes, a Democrat and the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee said that the Trump-led Republican administration needed to “immediately brief Congress on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision”.
“Maduro is an illegitimate ruler,” Himes said, referring to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, “But I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without Congressional authorization, nor have I heard a strategy for the day after and how we will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos.”
Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a co-chair of the Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus, showed support for removing Maduro while criticising the process adopted by the Trump administration.
Representing a district with a large Venezuelan immigrant population in South Florida, Wasserman Schultz described Maduro’s capture as “welcome news” for Venezuela but said Congress should have been involved before the operation.
“The absence of congressional involvement prior to this action risks the continuation of the illegitimate Venezuelan regime,” she said in a statement.