US Reps. Moulton, Auchincloss Push To Stop Trump's 'Unauthorized Venezuelan War'

WASHINGTON, DC — Bay State U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) and Jake Auchincloss (D-Newton) were among the Democratic lawmakers vowing to stop what they called an "unauthorized Venezuela war" through legislation that they said would preemptively block funding for military strikes unless Congress passes a war declaration in the region.

The escalation of party tensions comes after President Donald Trump, on social media, threatened to have Democratic lawmakers arrested and put on trial for posting a video urging service members to ignore military orders that they deem unconstitutional, related to operations against the country.

Trump went on to say on Truth Social that the lawmakers' actions amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

"Congress decides when this country goes to war," said Moulton, an Iraq War veteran who is challenging U.S. Sen. Ed Markey for his seat in next year's election. "Not the president. This is a war that the American people do not want."

Auchincloss, a former Marine, said Trump's strikes on what the administration said are drug-smuggling boats out of the country were a case of "military saber-rattling" and that China is actually responsible for deriving 99 percent of the fentanyl that makes its way into the country — not the Caribbean nation.

"This president has a pattern of abusing the military to distract from his own failed economic policies," Auchincloss said.

The No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act would prohibit the executive branch from spending any federal funds on the use of military inside Venezuela or against Venezuelan forces, including remote or intermittent strikes, unless Congress passes a specific Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

Moulton said the bill will be formally introduced in the coming days and that he expects it to garner additional support from members of Congress who served in Iraq and other members of Congress "concerned about both escalating regional tensions and the preservation of constitutional checks and balances."

"The reality is that the president is disregarding the chain of command," Moulton said during the news conference. "It is putting our troops in danger. ... We're setting down a marker that you're not going to get funding from Congress for this war of choice that he seems to want to start."

Moulton said that the lack of Congressional intelligence briefings on the military strikes amounts to Trump trying to "dare Congress to stop him."

"This is a dangerous mix," Moulton said.

Moulton said that Trump's justifications for the strikes thus far "would not survive some mock court in high school."

"At the end of the day, if we do go to war with Venezuela, if we do engage in direct strikes, there will be a lot of Republicans who will regret not doing the right thing," Moulton said.

Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), as well as Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) — all former military members or who have national security experience — were featured in the Tuesday video call for defiance that drew the president's ire.

According to Politico, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a Thursday briefing, defended Trump's comments, saying the media had unfairly focused exclusively on his Truth Social posts, "but not what brought the president to respond in this way."

Moulton said that his legislation is urgently needed in light of recent developments.

"We owe our service members clarity, legality, and leadership — not threats, not chaos, and not another unnecessary conflict," Moulton said. "This legislation draws the line the president refuses to draw.

"It protects our troops, reasserts Congress’s constitutional role, and ensures we do not sleepwalk into another ill-advised war."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)