House to vote on resolutions to put limits on Trump’s campaign against Venezuela and drug cartels

By STEPHEN GROVES and BEN FINLEY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House was voting Wednesday on a pair of resolutions that would put a check on President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels and the nation of Venezuela.

Democrats forced the votes using war powers resolutions as Trump has stepped up his threats against the South American nation and Congress has questioned how the U.S. military is conducting a campaign that has destroyed 25 vessels allegedly carrying drugs and killed at least 95 people. The legislation, if it becomes law, would force the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels that it deems to be terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere or launching an attack on Venezuela itself.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued that Trump’s aggressions in the region were really because “the president is coveting Venezuelan oil.”

They are the first votes in the House on Trump’s military campaign in Central and South America. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had previously voted against similar resolutions, and Tru...