"The US House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected two attempts to curb President Donald Trump’s military operations targeting Venezuela, amid growing speculation of a major escalation following his announcement of a 'blockade' on sanctioned oil tankers. In a tense debate on Capitol Hill, lawmakers voted 216–210 against a resolution introduced by Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The measure sought to invoke the War Powers Resolution to require congressional authorisation for US military action against any presidentially designated 'terrorist organisation' in the Western Hemisphere. “This War Powers Resolution would immediately end President Trump's extrajudicial boat strikes in the Western Hemisphere, which have never been approved by Congress and far exceed the president's authority,” Meeks told the House. “We are a country of laws. Individuals in the streets have to abide by our laws. The President of the United States should be abiding by our laws and our laws: you convict somebody in court, you can't just go out and kill them,” he added. Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar accused the Trump administration of pursuing an unlawful campaign of regime change under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. “Let's be perfectly clear, only Congress has the power to declare war. The Trump administration's military escalation in the Caribbean is not only reckless, but it is also blatantly illegal. We cannot allow this kind of dangerous overreach to go unchecked,” Omar said. “Trump, a president who touts himself as a global peacemaker, has appointed himself as judge, jury, and executioner in the Western Hemisphere. This brutal military campaign, which has killed more than 90 people, further threatens a region that has already been destabilised by decades of US intervention. And it risks driving us into further war in Venezuela,” she added. Republican lawmakers defended the administration, arguing that limiting presidential authority would undermine US security and benefit what they described as 'narco-terrorist' groups. “This resolution would prohibit the President of the United States from using all the tools at his disposal in the fight against designated terrorist organisations in the Western Hemisphere. These are the same narco-terrorists who are waging and have been waging a war on the American people through the use of deadly drugs and poison that are flooding into our country,” said Carlos Gimenez, Republican representative for Florida. “Nearly 400,000 Americans have died from overdose poisoning, deaths fueled by foreign terrorist organisations, including the Venezuelan regime, and violent cartels operating in our own backyard,” he added. However, some Republicans broke ranks. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie questioned whether military intervention would achieve its stated goals. “Do we truly believe that Nicolas Maduro will be replaced by a modern-day George Washington? How did that work out in Cuba, Libya, Iraq, or Syria?” Massie asked. “Now it's the same playbook, except we're told that drugs are the WMDs […] This is about oil and regime change,” he added. The defeat of the resolutions allows the Trump administration to maintain its current military posture toward Venezuela without immediate legislative constraints."