Donald Trump's arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia without prior notification to Congress marks a significant break with convention, even as observed by the president himself. Senior members of Congress were only informed once the operation was under way, bypassing the usual consultation with the 'gang of eight'.
The move effectively renders the 1973 War Powers Resolution obsolete, according to critics. The act requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops into hostilities and to withdraw them after 60 days unless Congress authorises the action. It was passed in response to the Vietnam War and concerns over an 'imperial presidency'.
Previous administrations have observed these limits more closely. When Qassem Suleimani was killed in 2020, the gang of eight was punctiliously consulted. The 1989 invasion of Panama, though lacking a formal declaration of war, was preceded by bipartisan support. Barack Obama's operation to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011 was conducted under the 2001 Authorisation for Use of Military Force.
Trump has cited alternative legal justifications for bypassing Congress, including executive orders labelling Maduro and his associates 'narco-terrorists', subject to post-2001 war on terror rules. This has been used to justify mass military deployments off Venezuela's coast and lethal strikes on drug-trafficking boats, which have killed at least 115 people since September without congressional approval.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the lack of notification, arguing that such missions cannot risk leaks. '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,”' he said. Democrats reacted furiously, with Nancy Pelosi accusing Trump of 'flagrant disregard' for congressional war powers, and Mark Warner stressing the constitutional need for checks and balances.
