After months of repeated U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and an increasing U.S. military buildup off the South American coast, President Trump took unprecedented action this past weekend, launching a massive military strike on Venezuela and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on drug-trafficking charges. Trump received no Congressional approval for the attack, nor did the President even notify Congress of the strike until it was already underway, an apparent violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
In the aftermath of the assault, Trump has brazenly vowed to expropriate the Venezuelan oil industry and claimed that the U.S. will “run the country” for the time being. Critics have lambasted the action as blatantly illegal—both under the U.S. Constitution and international law.
Included among those critics are several groups, lawmakers and political candidates from Alabama.
“There is no doubt that Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate and corrupt leader, but President Trump does NOT have the authority to unilaterally invade a sovereign country, capture its leader, and haul them back to the United States,” U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, said in an official statement Saturday. “His reckless actions threaten to further destabilize the region and put our troops in harm’s way while dragging us into another regime-change war against the will of the American people. The fact that he did so without even briefing Congress, let alone seeking congressional approval—as required by the Constitution—is extremely alarming and sets a dangerous precedent.”
“The Trump Administration must immediately explain to Congress and the American people why such an attack was justified and how it plans to ensure stability in the region,” Sewell added.
U.S. Representative Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, also slammed Trump’s attack, comparing it to other misguided U.S. military actions abroad.
“Donald Trump has seemed hell bent on starting a war since he returned to office,” Figures wrote on X. “Acting without congressional authorization and stating the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela puts American troops at risk and ignores the hard lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam.”
“America should never invade and occupy another country without Congressional approval. This runs the risk of putting American troops in another endless war abroad, with no clear objective or timeline,” Figures added. “Congress needs to address this matter immediately upon our return next week.”
Andrew Sneed, a Democratic hopeful for Alabama’s 5th Congressional District challenging U.S. Representative Dale Strong, R-Alabama, echoed Sewell and Figures’ criticism of the assault in his own public statement.
“I am thankful no US Soldiers were harmed in yesterday morning’s military actions in Venezuela. We are, as always, indebted to their service and bravery,” Sneed said. “Separately, regardless of the fact that, as Representative Sewell noted, Nicolas Maduro was an illegitimate and corrupt leader—whose actions harmed both our country’s people and his own, Representative Dale Strong either does not understand, or continues to ignore, his responsibility. As a member of Congress—a co-equal branch of Government—his responsibility is to serve as a check, not a cheerleader, for the Executive. For the future Representative of the 5th, Constitutional fidelity must always trump political expediency.”
“When the President explicitly states, ‘We’re going to stay in Venezuela until a proper transition can take place.’ It should be crystal clear that this action was far more than a criminal extradition and—regardless of eventual outcome—should have been extensively discussed and approved by Congress prior to proceeding,” Sneed added. “Congress MUST be Congress. And our Representative must always fight for our voice.”
Even Republican congressional candidate Case Dixon, who is challenging U.S. Representative Gary Palmer in Alabama’s 6th Congressional District, condemned Trump’s assault on Venezuela as an unconstitutional overreach by the executive.
“The executive branch cannot sidestep Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war, regime change, or occupation by obtaining indictments,” Dixon told ALPolitics.com. “Bringing criminal charges does not suspend the Constitution of the United States. The President does not gain war powers, detention authority, or the authority to govern another country simply by filing paperwork in federal court.”
“The Justice Department’s 25-page superseding indictment of Nicolás Maduro focuses on cocaine and narco-terrorism allegations and it contains no mention of fentanyl or stolen oil, which have been cited as public justifications for U.S. action and continued involvement,” Dixon continued. “These actions require explicit congressional authorization. Congress has a duty to assert its authority.”
Every day Alabamians responded in kind, organizing protests in Huntsville, Birmingham and Dothan over the weekend. The protestors condemned the Trump administration’s actions as unconstitutional and rejected the idea of going to war with Venezuela as a means of seizing the country’s rich oil reserves.
“Congressional approval is necessary, and an actual thoughtful action would be necessary,” Huntsville 50501 organizer Amy Price told AL.com. “This is not the way, invading and bombing the capital city of another country and killing innocent people. That’s not okay.”
“We also know that this is happening because the U.S. wants to control Venezuelan oil reserves, and that was made very clear when Trump came on the news and spoke about taking over the government of Venezuela and taking control of the oil industry there,” Price noted.
Meanwhile, many of Alabama’s Republican congressional delegates chose to disregard any legal criticisms of the attack, instead applauding the strike and the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“Nicolás Maduro has faced narco-terrorism charges in the United States for half a decade now, and it’s time he face those charges head-on in a U.S. courtroom,” said U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama. “I applaud President Trump for carrying out his duties to ensure Maduro and his wife are brought to justice.”
Aderholt went on to echo the Trump administration’s claims that Maduro was involved with criminal organizations who transported “deadly narcotics” into the U.S., arguing that Maduro should be “held accountable” for killing “thousands of American lives.”
U.S. Senators Katie Britt, R-Alabama, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, shared similar praise for the attack in posts to X.
“The step taken today by @POTUS to take the brutal narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro into custody was bold, courageous, and will save countless lives,” Britt wrote. “I’m thankful to the members of our military and law enforcement officials who successfully executed this mission and look forward to Maduro having his long-overdue day in court.”
“Thank you to the brave service members who have apprehended this criminal and sacrifice every day to keep America safe,” Tuberville posted. “This is what America first national security looks like. Let this be a warning to anyone who threatens our country.”
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, who serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also focused on criticizing Maduro and praising the service members involved in the military action rather than confront questions about the assault’s legality.
“[Maduro’s] illegitimate regime brutalized the Venezuelan people, aligned with hostile adversaries like Cuba, Iran, Russia, and China to threaten U.S. security, and operated a narco-terrorist network that flooded our country with deadly drugs that killed countless Americans,” Rogers, a native of Calhoun County, wrote on X this morning.
“I am grateful to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who once again demonstrated the exceptional skill and capability of the U.S. military.”
While it is not yet clear what exact political fallout will result from Trump’s attack on Venezuela, some Democratic lawmakers are already calling for impeachment charges against the president (Trump was previously impeached twice during his first administration). Meanwhile, senior Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, are demanding more information from the White House as Congress returns from recess.
Trump’s decision to strike Venezuela without Congressional approval could prove deeply consequential both at home and abroad, as both the future of U.S. international legitimacy and the key 2026 midterm elections hang in the balance.
