Majority Leader | Remark | Remarks | THE NEWSROOM | Repub...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMRemarks01.14.26Thune on Democrats’ War Powers Hypocrisy“Democrats are taking up this bill because their anti-Trump hysteria knows no bounds.” Click here to watch the video.WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):“Mr. President, today we expect to vote on a resolution to direct the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities in or against Venezuela – even though the U.S. is not currently engaged in hostilities in or against Venezuela. “That’s right, Mr. President.“We have no troops on the ground in Venezuela.“We’re not currently conducting military operations there.“But Democrats are taking up this bill because their anti-Trump hysteria knows no bounds.“Here are the facts, Mr. President.“Nicolás Maduro is a narco-terrorist who helped lead the so-called Cartel of the Suns.“He advanced large-scale drug trafficking.“Armed an illegitimate militia.“Solicited arms for a terrorist organization.“Presided over unfree and unfair elections.“Targeted political opponents and oversaw the killing of thousands, as a UN report outlined.“To name just a few, just some of his crimes, Mr. President.“The United States did not recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.“Neither did the European Union.“And he was a fugitive of the United States justice system.“Back during the first Trump administration, Democrats were calling for the ouster of Maduro and for U.S. assistance in Venezuela and were criticizing the president for not going far enough in opposing the Maduro regime.“President Biden raised the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro to $25 million.“But then President Trump directs an isolated special forces raid in support of a valid warrant to capture Maduro so that he can be tried for drug crimes, and Democrats are falling all over themselves to criticize the seizure and arrest of this international criminal.“Talk about Trump Derangement Syndrome.“It’s funny; I don’t remember Democrats trying to tie the president’s hands when Democrat presidents took far more extensive military action that involved thousands of troops or airstrikes over weeks and months in Libya, Bosnia, Serbia, and Haiti.“Most recently, in 2024, they locked arms and voted to turn a blind eye toward a months-long deployment of troops for President Biden’s disastrous floating aid pier to Gaza, even while Biden’s own Defense Department called it an active war zone and the pier was fired upon twice.“They said those troops were not engaged in hostilities and therefore not subject to the War Powers Resolution.“And yet today they are claiming the opposite for a couple hundred troops who were in Venezuela for a matter of mere hours – and who have already returned to their bases in the United States or on U.S. navy ships in international waters. “But with President Trump, Democrats are incapable of deciding on the merits. “They reflexively oppose anything he does or says.“Even when it contradicts – or is in tension with – their own prior opinions.“Whatever the outcome of this process, Mr. President, I trust that the Trump administration will continue to work to combat the terrible scourge of illegal drugs and to keep our nation and our communities safe.”PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
