Duckworth Reacts to Trump’s Actions in Venezuela

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement regarding Trump’s actions in Venezuela:

“The American people believed Donald Trump when he promised on the campaign trail that he would get our nation out of foreign wars, but this morning we awoke to another stark reminder that he is—and has always been—a liar who has never cared about keeping his promises. The Constitution requires the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to authorize any President to engage in acts of war—because they will be the ones to live with the consequences of the decision—and it is unacceptable for this President to deny them that responsibility.

“While Trump—whose love of country is best measured by the number of times he dodged the draft during Vietnam—may believe that war is ‘like watching a TV show’ as he said this morning, he has never understood or appreciated that the true costs of war are measured not only in dollars and cents, but in the blood, sweat and sacrifices of our troops and our military families. Sadly, our troops understand all too well just how costly it can be when our nation engages in war without a plan for what comes next, destabilizing an entire region.

“Donald Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional operations in Venezuela—including this morning’s arrest of a foreign leader—are not about enforcing law and order because if they were, he wouldn’t hide them from Congress. Maduro was unquestionably a bad actor, but no President has the authority to unilaterally decide to use force to topple a government, thrusting us and the region into uncertainty without justification, a defined end-state or a real plan for preventing the instability that could come next. His actions continue putting American troops, personnel and citizens at risk both in the region and around the globe. None of that serves our nation’s interests.”

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