See below for reactions by Virginia leaders to Trump’s attack on Venezuela. First, here’s Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11):
- “Trump’s regime change war in Venezuela is flat out illegal and yet another betrayal of the commitments he made to the American people. He said he’d lower prices. He’s driving prices up. He said no ‘new stupid wars.’ He’s starting new stupid wars.”
P.S. Multiple things can be true in this case: 1) Maduro’s regime is horrible, illegitimate, etc.; 2) Trump has no authorization from Congress to launch a war against Venezuela; 3) Trump has laid out no clear or coherent rationale for launching a war against Venezuela; 4) the people of Venezuela have suffered tremendously, and now could suffer a LOT more; 5) this action sets a dangerous precedent (we can just grab foreign leaders, take them back to the U.S. and put them on trial?)…
- Far-right-extremist/MAGA cultist/insurrectionist Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05) approves, not surprisingly.
- Here’s Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07): “Cindy and my thoughts are with our troops this morning and their families. We hope they come home safe. The U.S. military is a remarkable instrument that performs magnificently. The question is whether it will be a tool of conquest or a tool to defend American lives and values. Let there be no mistake, President Trump has started a war in Venezuela, without any Congressional approval, and in violation of the Constitution. Over the past 2 decades, we have learned the hard way that wars are easy to start and hard to finish. A plan rarely survives first contact. Having served in Iraq, I’ve seen this first hand. Trump is wrong to start a war in Venezuela. It is not what the American people want, it is not putting America first, and it is not worth American blood and treasure.”
KAINE STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNAUTHORIZED MILITARY ATTACK ON VENEZUELA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), released the following statement regarding President Donald Trump’s unauthorized military attack on Venezuela:
“President Trump’s unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro—however terrible he is—is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere. That history is replete with failures, and doubling down on it makes it difficult to make the claim with a straight face that other countries should respect the United States’ sovereignty when we do not do the same.
“Where will this go next? Will the President deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies? Trump has threatened to do all this and more and sees no need to seek legal authorization from people’s elected legislature before putting servicemembers at risk.
“It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy and trade. My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week. We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape.”
Kaine has been a leading voice in Congress raising concerns over presidents’ efforts to expand the use of military force without congressional authorization. Alongside U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), Kaine filed a War Powers Resolution last month to block the use of the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress. That legislation is ready to be called up for a vote.
Kaine, Paul, and Schiff previously introduced a bipartisan resolution to prevent the use of military force within or against Venezuela, but it did not receive enough Republican votes to pass. Kaine and Schiff also introduced a similar measure focused on repeated strikes in the southern Caribbean Sea that the Trump Administration has carried out without congressional authorization, killing dozens of unknown individuals. The legislation did not gain enough Republican support to pass.
“It’s time for Congress to get its ass off the couch and do what the Constitution mandates that we do…We have to put this before the American people…Looting a nation is contrary to governing a nation, and that would be my chief worry about Donald Trump and those he would entrust with this completely ridiculous mission.”
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Ranking Member Subramanyam Statement on Illegal Military Action in Venezuela
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Ranking Member of the Military and Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee, released the following statement after illegal military action in Venezuela and the capture of Maduro by U.S. forces:
“The Administration’s actions in Venezuela prove that this has never been about a war on drugs or protecting Americans. This is about regime change and a personal feud with President Maduro. President Trump said he’d be the ‘Peace President’ and wouldn’t start any new wars, and yet here he is illegally invading another country and kidnapping its President. This was done without Congressional approval, and Congress must be briefed about this as soon as possible.
President Maduro was a violent ruler who oppressed democracy in his country, but his capture in this manner will not stop the flow of drugs or promise anything other than more instability in Venezuela, and potentially another forever war started under false pretenses.”
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- And now…Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02), who says she is “grateful” for Trump’s attack on Venezuela, and says “every parent in Virginia and across the country should rejoice…”
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STATEMENT OF U.S. SEN. MARK R. WARNER
~ On the U.S. attack in Caracas ~
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement:
“Our Constitution places the gravest decisions about the use of military force in the hands of Congress for a reason. Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike.
“If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan’s leadership? What stops Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine’s president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it.
“None of this absolves Maduro. He is a corrupt authoritarian who has repressed his people, stolen elections, imprisoned political opponents, and presided over a humanitarian catastrophe that has forced millions of Venezuelans to flee. The Venezuelan people deserve democratic leadership, and the United States and the international community should have done far more, years ago, to press for a peaceful transition after Maduro lost a vote of his own citizens. But recognizing Maduro’s crimes does not give any president the authority to ignore the Constitution.
“The hypocrisy underlying this decision is especially glaring. This same president recently pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in a U.S. court on serious drug trafficking charges, including conspiring with narcotics traffickers while in office. Yet now, the administration claims that similar allegations justify the use of military force against another sovereign nation. You cannot credibly argue that drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case, while issuing a pardon in another.
“America’s strength comes from our commitment to the rule of law, democratic norms, and constitutional restraint. When we abandon those principles, even in the name of confronting bad actors, we weaken our credibility, endanger global stability, and invite abuses of power that will long outlast any single presidency.”
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- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08): “I’ve always opposed American attacks on Venezuela and I oppose them now. You don’t need sympathy for Maduro to grasp that attacking another country for unclear, shifting rationales without domestic support or a clear plan for the day after won’t make us safer. The Administration lied to Congress and launched an illegal war for regime change and oil. Foolhardy and wrong.”
- Exactly the kind of statement you’d expect from far-right/Trump lackey Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06):
- If we had a serious political media (e.g., that didn’t only care about maintaining access and not pissing off MAGA), the story of Glenn Youngkin’s far-right-radicalization arc from a few years ago, when he was pro-DEI, pro-CO2-reductions, etc. at the Caryle Group, would be a great story!
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- From LG-elect Ghazala Hashmi
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- From Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03)
Scott Statement on U.S. Military Strikes in Venezuela and Capture of President Maduro
January 3, 2026
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the United States military conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“I am deeply concerned by reports of U.S. military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro. There is no question that Nicolás Maduro is a brutal and corrupt leader who has inflicted enormous harm on the Venezuelan people. However, the reprehensible conduct of a foreign leader, absent a clear and immediate threat to the United States, does not give any president the authority to disregard the Constitution.
“The Constitution vests in Congress the power to authorize the use of military force. To date, the Trump Administration has yet to identify a clear legal basis for its military strikes in the Caribbean, the Eastern Pacific or now inside Venezuela, for the capture of a foreign head of state, or even to ‘run’ a foreign country. Escalating military action inside a sovereign country without congressional authorization raises serious questions under both U.S. and international law and risks further destabilizing the region.
“I have repeatedly warned that these heavy-handed and legally dubious military actions carried out in the name of reducing drug use in the United States are among the least effective and most costly ways to address that problem. Decades of evidence and research make clear that the most effective strategies to reduce illicit drug use are education, prevention, and access to mental health and addiction treatment. Yet at the same time, this Administration has sought to significantly reduce staffing and funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the very federal agency charged with addressing those needs. This contradiction suggests a troubling preference for costly military escalation over evidence-based solutions.
“Congress and the American people deserve a full accounting of the legal authority, objectives, and consequences of these actions. I will continue to press for answers and for Congress to reassert our constitutional war powers.”
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- From former (and hopefully future) Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA02)
“Having served as a military officer and in a congressional oversight role, my first concern is the safety of those involved, and I’m happy about the initial reports on that front. Congress must be briefed immediately on the legal basis, objectives, and consequences of this action, and on the administration’s plan going forward in Venezuela. I urge this Congress not to abdicate their oversight role on these critical issues any longer.”
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- Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA09) is hard right and usually sounds crazy and stupid, but in this case, he actually makes a lot more sense than almost any other Republican who’s issued a statement today.
“Similar to Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1990 who was later found
guilty, the disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will stand trial for drug trafficking charges in the United States.
But I am concerned about U.S. military intervention in foreign countries because of its potential to lead to protracted U.S. engagement. Because of this concern, I will be asking that further information is shared regarding the drug trafficking charges. Further, I want information on plans for future U.S. involvement in Venezuela and will insist Congressional authority and oversight be adhered to.”
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- Worse-than-worthless Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01):
“Drug trafficking at the hands of violent cartels, with the aid and abetment of the Maduro regime, has devastated countless American families. I commend the administration for taking decisive action in Venezuela to protect our national security, and I look forward to in-depth briefings from our partners in the administration to ensure this operation brings stability and security to the region. We must also thank the brave men and women of the U.S. military who carried out this mission with bravery, courage, and steadfast professionalism.”
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This is brilliant by Jamelle Bouie
“If you were one of those people who last year said that Trump was gonna be a candidate of peace, Trump was gonna keep us out of wars, Trump was going to exercise restraint on the world stage, then I have something I wanna tell you. You’re a dumbass hahaha. You’re an idiot…You are barely smart enough to breathe…you’re the biggest rube on the planet.”
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VA06 Democratic candidate Beth Macy nails it:
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|
Perriello Condemns Trump’s Illegal and Dangerous Act of War in Venezuela |
| CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Former Congressman and diplomat Tom Perriello, who is running to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, today issued the following statement:
“Trump’s illegal and dangerous act of war — and the cowardice of members of Congress who are hiding from their Constitutional duty to approve or block such military actions — will destabilize the region with serious costs for hardworking Americans and immediate harm to our national security. With President Trump running our country into disaster, no one here or there needs him trying to run Venezuela or trying to distract from his disastrous economic record by sending our soldiers into danger on false and unlawful pretenses. The naked attempt by Trump and cronies to take control of Venezuelan oil reserves creates a power vacuum in that country with dangerous consequences for the American people. Venezuelan factions who know their country much better than the Mar-a-Largo elite will now vie for control while our Commander-in-Chief flip-flops hourly on his justifications for the most serious actions a President can approve. As with the U.S. invasion of Iraq, this unprovoked aggression will cost hardworking Americans higher prices and more debt, while destabilizing a region and eroding our leverage to protect American interests around the world. “The bare minimum of duty for Rep. John McGuire and every Member of Congress who swore a Constitutional oath is to go on record about whether they approve these acts of war and own the costs of all that may follow. The President and Secretary of State today clearly stated their intention to continue provoking wars within our hemisphere; Congress must meet its Constitutional obligation to block these actions or to own their consequences. The minimal threshold for courage is expressing support for the bipartisan War Powers Resolution championed by Senator Tim Kaine. “I support the full prosecution of Nicolás Maduro for his crimes against the Venezuelan people and systematic violation of human rights. I have worked to prosecute and sanction corrupt leaders, and experience demonstrates that legitimacy is what makes consequences endure. Maduro should be tried and punished under the auspices of Venezuelan or Inter-American judiciaries. Anyone with a passing understanding of U.S. history in Latin America knows that the legacy of U.S. Presidents claiming to champion democracy in the Americas at the barrel of a gun has too often meant propping up the most corrupt and repressive. Such ahistorical nation-building efforts have been rejected soundly by Republican, Democratic and Independent voters, including Trump’s base that rejected the Republican establishment’s policy of ‘endless wars’ that ballooned the national debt and put our troops at risk for decades without a clear and present threat to our national interest.” |
Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04):
“Without Congressional approval, the Trump Administration’s illegal military strikes on Venezuela have thrown us into frighteningly uncharted territory.
In the process, they have put the lives of our servicemembers at needless risk, damaged our reputation as a global leader and threatened to drag our nation into a senseless war.
Maduro’s illegitimate rule over Venezuela and his blatant suppression of democracy cannot be overlooked, but this alone does not justify war and an American-led regime change using our taxpayer resources to ‘run the country’ of Venezuela.
The Administration repeatedly told Congress that it did not intend to use military force in Venezuela. This was a lie.
The Administration’s actions today undermine the delicate trust built between the United States and Latin America, sending a disturbing message to other world leaders that we do not respect the sovereignty of other countries.
They invite our adversaries to do the same and undermine our moral standing to oppose similar actions by Russia or China to launch large-scale military operations in their neighboring countries.
The President has a duty to share with Congress his legal justification for this decision, and Congress must act swiftly to prevent further bloodshed and secure stability in the region during this critical time.”
