Constitutional Crisis: U.S. Congress Explodes Over War Powers and the Maduro Capture: “Illegal and Reckless” or “Justice Served”?
Washington D.C., USA – January 5, 2026
The halls of the U.S. Capitol are the site of a fierce constitutional confrontation following the military strike on Caracas that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
While the White House celebrates a “precision operation,” a growing coalition of lawmakers is accusing President Donald Trump of violating the War Powers Act of 1973 by launching a large-scale military offensive without a Congressional declaration of war or an immediate threat of attack on the United States.
The political rift has divided the nation’s leadership, raising fundamental questions about the limits of executive power in the era of “America First” interventionism.
The “Unconstitutional” Charge
The opposition response was led by Senator Peter Welch and Representative Troy Carter, who both released blistering statements calling the operation “unconstitutional, illegal, and reckless.”
Carter revealed that a last-minute attempt to pass a War Powers resolution to halt the hostilities failed on a near party-line vote just as the bombs began falling.
The primary legal grievance is that the administration used a law enforcement indictment for drug trafficking as a “backdoor” justification for what was effectively a regime-change invasion.
“The President has ignored the rule of law,”
Congressman Carter stated, warning that the move risks American lives without a coherent plan for the aftermath. Similarly, Representative Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger, expressed deep concern over the prospect of “nation-building,” accusing the administration of repeatedly lying to Congress about the true nature of the military buildup in the Caribbean.
Defending the “Force of Justice”
Conversely, Republican leadership has rallied behind the President, framing the capture as a historic win for national security.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise described the operation as the “full force of the American justice system,” arguing that because Maduro and his wife were rightfully indicted in U.S. courts as “narco-terrorists,” the military was simply acting as the enforcement arm for a judicial warrant.
This “law enforcement” narrative is the administration’s primary defense against the War Powers challenge.
By classifying Maduro not as a head of state but as a criminal fugitive, the White House argues that the strike does not constitute an “act of war” in the traditional sense.
However, with the U.S. now pledging to “run the country” for a transitional period, the distinction between a police action and an occupation is becoming increasingly blurred.
