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House Republicans say they’re behind President Donald Trump and his administration’s pressure campaign on Venezuela so far, but the uncertainty over what happens next is spurring both questions and concerns among some in the GOP.
Several Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration has been well within its rights to act against Nicolás Maduro’s regime. But they’re eager for more information after several strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats and Trump’s own heightened rhetoric targeting the country’s dictatorial president.
“I support the actions that are being taken,” Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “I absolutely support stopping the flow of drugs in this country. I’m interested in seeing what the longer-term plans are, and that’s what I want to see.”
It comes amid significant speculation and debate over a pair of Sept. 2 strikes against an alleged drug boat from Venezuela.
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The White House confirmed that the U.S. carried out two attacks — one initial hit on the boat and a follow-up strike that killed two remaining survivors. Democrats have accused the GOP administration of committing a possible war crime.
Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who said the second strike was carried out on orders from U.S. Navy Admiral Frank M. Bradley, have emphatically defended the decision.
“Obviously, if you’re not there, it’s kind of hard to second-guess those decisions,” Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., said in pushing back on the criticism. “I think the use of our armed forces … to help deal with the flood of human trafficking and drug trafficking that’s coming out of Venezuela, we need to do all we can to help stop.”
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He said, however, that Trump would have to seek congressional approval before any escalation of force against Venezuela — something GOP lawmakers were torn over.
“Certain things are obviously within the executive authorities, but also I think there’s things under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 through 13 that are war powers of Congress,” said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.
“There are certain things that he does have the ability to do. But we don’t know what the president’s plan is at this point, and he’s not forecasting it so others know. So I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves slightly … when we don’t know what the actual plan is.”
Rep. Earl Baumgartner, R-Colo., said Trump had past precedent on his side in treating certain further actions against Venezuela as law enforcement actions rather than acts of war.
“I think it’s within the bounds of protecting American national security under the guidance of the president. And, again, the briefings I’ve received, I think they’re on the right track in the process,” he said.
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Rep. Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., said he was looking forward to getting more information on the situation but did not say directly whether Trump needed to seek Congress’ green light to escalate use of force against Maduro.
“I think we have to give the president plenty of room to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the country. Not everything that ends up in print is necessarily intended for domestic consumption when you’re dealing with foreign relations,” he said.
“Setting aside the legal debates, I think it would be wise to be sure that the American people are supportive of, you know, any substantial escalation before undertaking it.”
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Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said Trump would need to seek congressional approval if he “goes to war” but argued “it currently is not a war.”
“I mean, they declared war on us when they dumped that junk onto our streets. So the drug dealers, I say, send them all to hell. I’m tired of seeing families that I know lose loved ones to drug abuse,” he said.
And Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., also signaled he would stick by whatever Trump decided on Venezuela.
“It’s already designated a foreign terrorist organization. [Maduro is] the head of a foreign terrorist organization. He’s the illegitimate president or leader of Venezuela,” he said. “That organization has killed tens of thousands of Americans. And so I will support the actions that the president is taking in order to get Maduro to leave and install a legitimate government and bring freedom to the people of Venezuela.”
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