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babylonsister

(172,580 posts) Sun Jan 4, 2026, 08:47 AM Sunday

How Trump circumventing Congress is different from previous presidents

How Trump circumventing Congress is different from previous presidents
Robert Tait in Washington
The disdain as to why information on the Maduro raid was withheld even from senior lawmakers is unmistakable
Sun 4 Jan 2026 06.00 EST

snip//

Under Trump 2.0, no approval was sought for the mass military build-up off Venezuela’s shores or the estimated 35 lethal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed at least 115 people since last September. Similarly, the deployment of a vast military force off Venezuela, including the largest US aircraft carrier, was carried out without seeking authorization.

The disdain implicit in the explanations from Trump and Marco Rubio as to why information on the Maduro raid was withheld even from senior congressional figures – that they cannot be trusted because they might leak – is unmistakable.

“It’s just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say: ‘Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days,’” Rubio told reporters.

Stung by this haughty disregard, congressional Democrats hit out ferociously on Saturday, with insistent demands to be briefed on future actions.

“President Trump has made no secret of his intentions to effectively abolish the Congress, and that pattern continues today with his flagrant disregard for the Article 1 war powers of Congress, which is essential to our constitutional system of checks and balances,” said Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker.

more...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/trump-congress-venezuela-attack

5 replies

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Highlight:

How Trump circumventing Congress is different from previous presidents (Original Post) babylonsister Sunday OP

Someone joked on BlueSky that Trump hadn't even taken the proper constitutional steps to lie the country into war. sop Sunday #1

Little Marco called it a 'law enforcement' operation, which it wasn't bucolic_frolic Sunday #2

"Law enforcement operation"? sop Sunday #3

How can they justify arresting a foreign head of state for violating US law Ocelot II Sunday #5

At least the Bush administration paid Congress the courtesy of lying to it for more than a year Ocelot II Sunday #4

sop

(17,445 posts)

1. Someone joked on BlueSky that Trump hadn't even taken the proper constitutional steps to lie the country into war.

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 08:57 AM

Sunday

bucolic_frolic

(54,059 posts)

2. Little Marco called it a 'law enforcement' operation, which it wasn't

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 08:59 AM

Sunday

So it's so big it's top secret but it's so small it's not a military operation but an LE thing. Talk out of both sides of your verbal contortions much?

Oversight in all forms are absent and under attack here. Congressional, rule of law, sovereignty, ICC ... it's as if they said "WE are the ultimate authority, so how do you like that?"

sop

(17,445 posts)

3. "Law enforcement operation"?

Reply to bucolic_frolic (Reply #2)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 09:16 AM

Sunday

What laws were broken? The Venezuelan constitution grants the president and other elected officials immunity for criminal prosecution for their official acts. It's called "Inmunidad Presidencial" and "Inmunidad Parlamentaria."

As Mitt Romney once said, "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."

Ocelot II

(129,109 posts)

5. How can they justify arresting a foreign head of state for violating US law

Reply to sop (Reply #3)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 09:52 AM

Sunday

outside the jurisdiction of the US?

Ocelot II

(129,109 posts)

4. At least the Bush administration paid Congress the courtesy of lying to it for more than a year

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 09:17 AM

Sunday

before invading Iraq. Trump didn't even bother to lie, considering it unnecessary to talk to Congress at all.

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