A handful of Democratic lawmakers are calling for President Donald Trump to be impeached following the surprise weekend attack on Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.
“Trump and his administration have lied, consolidated power, and committed war crimes to seize Venezuelan oil and pursue regime change for their imperialist agenda in the Western Hemisphere. They are putting Americans’ safety in danger while destabilizing the region to enrich themselves,” Rep. Delia Ramirez posted to X on Saturday. “Trump must be impeached.”
The calls for impeachment come in the wake of Trump’s overnight attack on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, over the weekend, that left at least 40 people dead. Maduro and his wife are expected to appear in a New York federal court early this week on four counts of narco-terrorism, corruption and illegal possession of automatic firearms.
In the meantime, the state of Venezuela’s political future remains unclear as Trump’s statement that the U.S. would be “running” the country was seemingly contradicted Sunday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the U.S. would not have direct control but instead would use its military to create “leverage” over the current Venezuelan government until its set of demands is met.
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Rubio called it “running policy.”
Other Democratic lawmakers echoed Ramirez’s push for impeachment throughout the weekend.
“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality,” Rep. Maxine Waters told Axios. “I am reconsidering that view.”
Rep. Jared Huffman told Axios’ Andrew Solender: “We are in 25th Amendment territory now,” referring to the constitutional amendment that allows Congress to remove the president.
“This violation of the United States Constitution is an impeachable offense,” Rep. Dan Goldman added.
Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, the Gen Z content creator running to fill retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s seat, was among the first candidates to issue a statement on Trump’s attack in Venezuela, which was followed by a series of similar statements from other candidates.
“I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president,” Abughazaleh posted to Bluesky on Saturday night.
In a Saturday press conference, Rep. Eric Swalwell also said he was not ruling out impeachment, saying that “all options are on the table.”
“What this president has done, in the shortcuts that he has taken, is he’s going to, one shortcut at a time, put us in a fascist cul-de-sac,” Swalwell said. “That’s where he’d taken us, that’s the objection. It’s not a process objection; it’s an objection for acting in such a fascistic way.”
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