Murray: "It is unquestionably an act of war to invade a foreign nation, kidnap a foreign leader, even a dictator, and leave dozens of bodies-including civilians-behind…This is the United States Congress. And we have a constitutional role to be a check on the President. Only Congress can declare war. And Congress did not authorize the use of force against Venezuela."

ICYMI: Senator Murray Responds to Trump's Illegal Military Operation, Address to the Nation

***WATCH: Senator Murray's full floor speech***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to denounce President Trump's brazen act of war in Venezuela and slam the Trump administration for instigating regime change and military strikes in Venezuela without any legitimate justification, consultation with Congress, or any kind of long-term strategy to deal with the fallout.

Following her vote to advance a War Powers Resolution she cosponsored, S.J.Res.98-that would block the use of the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress-Senator Murray urged her colleagues in Congress to assert their Constitutional role over the power to declare war and press forward to restrain Trump's war-mongering and make sure he cannot put American boots on the ground without the approval of the American people and their representatives in Congress.

Today's successful vote to advance this War Powers Resolution sets up further debate and amendments ahead of a vote on final passage, likely next week.

Senator Murray's remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below:

"I am beyond outraged that President Trump would commit such a brazen act of war as he has done in Venezuela-with absolutely no notice-except to the oil companies they told and newspapers they leaked it to, no consultation with Congress, no legitimate justification for these unauthorized strikes, nor any kind of serious long-term strategy.

"It is unquestionably an act of war to invade a foreign nation, kidnap a foreign leader, even a dictator, and leave dozens of bodies-including civilians-behind.

"Would my colleagues still nod their heads and go along with it if a country tried to do this to American leaders? Of course not. So, we should stop playing dumb.

"Trump can't just say magic words and pretend this wasn't a major military operation.

"This is the United States Congress. And we have a constitutional role to be a check on the President. Only Congress can declare war. And Congress did not authorize the use of force against Venezuela.

"Now, I opposed the war in Iraq from the outset-and the parallels to what President Trump has kicked off in Venezuela are glaring. And I absolutely will not support any large-scale military conflict in Venezuela or a dangerous and expensive occupation.

"We have a President ignoring the problems he has caused in our own country, all to start a war no one asked for, with no legitimate justification, no concern for the servicemembers who are being put in harm's way, and absolutely no long-term strategy.

"Seriously-the only thing that was clear after the briefing yesterday is that Trump has no serious plan. First, Trump was 'just bombing alleged drug boats.' Then, Trump was 'just seizing oil shipments.' And the next thing you know, this Administration is sending the military to abduct a foreign leader.

"So, I have to ask-what is next? And where is next? How far is this going to go? Because it is clear that this is not over.

"Not when Trump keeps saying we will run the country. What is Trump's plan to 'run' Venezuela exactly? How long are we going to be there? How many of our people is he going to send? Who is even in charge? And how are we paying for this?

"There are no serious answers. The only thing we do know is why Trump is doing this-for oil. Because this clearly is not about ending tyranny and establishing a democracy, since Trump outright dismissed any possibility of helping the opposition party to build a true democracy.

"And it's clearly not about drug trafficking-after all, not even a month before this, President Trump pardoned the former President of Honduras who was convicted of the same crime.

"But the real reason, it's so painfully obvious this was always about the oil, why? Well, it's pretty simple: Trump keeps saying it! He literally said, and I quote, 'the difference between Iraq and this is that Bush didn't keep the oil. We're going to keep the oil.' That was the President.

"Is this America First? Of course not! It's Big Oil barons first. It is billionaires first. It is Trump first. First to rake in profits mind you-not first to put themselves in harm's way.

"You can bet, when Trump says he's not worried about boots on the ground-it's because he's not talking about his boots. He's not talking about his kids-he is talking about yours.

"Congress cannot stand by and shrug our shoulders. We have a Constitutional responsibility here.

"It is important that a majority of Senators voted to rein in this President's reckless actions. But if we want to put an end to this war-mongering-we need to keep pressing until we have a veto proof majority.

"Today's vote is not the end of the line. So, I urge all my colleagues to join us in asserting our authority and continuing to send President Trump a simple message: no American boots on the ground. No trading blood for oil. No war."

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