Rep. Maxine Waters ‘reconsidering’ view on impeaching Trump amid Venezuela takeover

Waters notably called for Trump’s impeachment shortly after he began his first term and was highly vocal when he was ultimately impeached twice.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., says she is “reconsidering” her view on President Donald Trump facing impeachment for his unilateral decision to issue military strikes in Venezuela, capture President Nicolás Maduro, and seize control of the Latin American country’s oil infrastructure.

“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” Waters, ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, said in a statement released on Sunday.

Joining the chorus of Democrats in Congress decrying Trump’s actions, which bypassed congressional approval, the 87-year-old congresswoman said Democrats “must take a firm stand against this abuse of authority.” She added, “We cannot normalize it. We cannot excuse it. And we cannot allow any president to place himself above the Constitution, Congress, or the rule of law.”

Waters notably called for Trump’s impeachment shortly after he began his first term and was highly vocal when he was ultimately impeached twice.

Following Trump’s controversial actions in Venezuela, which put the U.S. in a potentially costly and years-long, obscure operation, Waters suggested now might be the time to reconsider the held belief that Trump cannot be impeached, given Republican control of Congress.

“During Donald Trump’s first term, I called for his impeachment under then Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was impeached twice, yet escaped accountability due to a lack of Republican support. Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality,” Waters explained.

“I am reconsidering that view. Even if Republicans refuse to act, Democrats cannot remain silent or passive in the face of actions this extreme from this Administration.”

The longtime California lawmaker said that Trump’s perceived executive overreach is an “abuse of power” that “demands a serious and immediate response” from Congress.

“Donald Trump has now gone so far as to publicly boast about his detention of Nicolás Maduro and his wife and to suggest that he can unilaterally determine who governs Venezuela or even claim authority to run the country himself. That is not strength. It is reckless, delusional, and extremely dangerous,” said Waters.

On Monday, members of the Trump administration will brief congressional leaders on the president’s actions in Venezuela.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, who will participate in Monday’s briefing, slammed President Trump’s decision not to notify Congress before Friday’s strikes in Venezuela. Jeffries dismissed the Trump administration’s argument that not notifying Congress was to prevent leaks ahead of the military actions.

“There’s been no evidence that the administration has presented to justify the actions that were taken in terms of an imminent threat to the health, the safety, the well-being, the national security of the American people. This was not simply a counter-narcotics operation. It was an act of war,” Jeffries told Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

He asserted, “Pursuant to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war to authorize actions that take place in this regard.”

Congresswoman Waters said that while Maduro “inflicted real harm” on the people of Venezuela, “no president—especially Donald Trump—has the authority to bypass Congress to launch military strikes against a sovereign nation, while brazenly admitting that controlling Venezuela’s oil is part of his motivation.”

She added, “We have been down this road before, and it led to a disastrous, decades-long war in Iraq driven by oil and lies and I will not stand idly by as this president attempts to drag our nation into another endless conflict.”