Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., during an interview in New York, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Torres was among the chorus of congressional figures who condemned Trump's operation to capture Maduro without congressional approval last week in Venezuela.
"The US Constitution vests the power to declare war in Congress. No single individual has the authority to commit the nation to a war of regime change without congressional authorization," Torres noted in a Saturday post on X.
"Power cannot replace principle. Nor can the ends justify the means. In a constitutional republic, the rule of law must prevail over an act of raw military might. History warns that wars of regime change — even when well-intentioned — can unleash unintended consequences that produce more instability than they prevent," he added.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA IS TURNING OVER MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL TO US GOVERNMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’
During a press conference on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the mission was not the type "you can do congressional notification on."
He said that "at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice," adding that the War Department provided support for the Justice Department.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump speak to the press following U.S. military actions in Venezuela, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
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Asked about whether Congress was notified in advance, Trump said that "Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good."
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-dem-introduces-bill-venezuela-operation-block-presidents-bypassing-congress