GOP shows little interest in limiting Trump's war powers as he dials up foreign taunts

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham gave a categorical answer Tuesday when he was asked whether there’s any way Congress will limit President Donald Trump’s war powers after he ordered an operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

“No,” Graham, R-S.C., told NBC News.

The unequivocal response, even from a Trump loyalist, captures the scarcity of GOP interest in reclaiming Congress’ Article I powers to wage war after Trump ordered military strikes on Caracas. Trump has since suggested he'll go further, saying the U.S. will “run” Venezuela, while keeping the door open to using ground troops and dialing up warnings to other countries.

Trump’s rhetoric has alarmed U.S. allies around the world about the potential for further American intervention. His moves have also sparked criticism domestically from the Democratic opposition, along with a small group of Republicans, who say that he is acting illegally and that the Constitution requires him to get approval from Congress on matters of war.

The White House argues that the administration's actions in Venezuela were related to law enforcement and don't require congressional approval. And top Republicans, who control the House and the Senate, are offering support for Trump’s operation, calling Maduro an illegitimate leader while downplaying the prospect that Trump will further ratchet up U.S. military action.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch, R-Idaho, declined to say whether Trump would need permission from Congress to put U.S. troops on the ground to run Venezuela.

“I don’t want to engage on that conversation right now,” he said, downplaying Trump’s words. “There’s been suggestion that there would be boots on the ground.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he has a “squillion” questions about the Venezuela situation but thrice declined to say whether Congress would need to approve putting troops on the ground.

“We’re a long way from boots on the ground,” he said. “And every circumstance is different.”

Trump said Saturday his administration is “not afraid of boots on the ground” in Venezuela while the U.S. runs the country and ensures the flow of oil.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One later in the day, Trump threatened a “second wave” on Venezuela if its next set of leaders don’t “behave.”

He added that “Colombia is very sick, too,” like Venezuela.

Regarding Iran, he said, “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re gonna get hit very hard by the United States.”

He declared “Cuba is ready to fall.”

And Trump reiterated his desire to annex Greenland. “We need Greenland from a national security situation,” he said, mocking Denmark, a NATO ally, and its ability to defend the semi-autonomous territory under its control. “To boost up security in Greenland, they added one more dogsled.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is leading a push to force a Senate vote as early as this week on a war powers resolution to restrain Trump’s authority to escalate military action in Venezuela, calling his moves “illegal” and declaring that there is “no argument” that Venezuela posed an imminent threat to the U.S.

“Only Congress can declare war — or in the modern phrase contained in the 1973 War Powers Resolution, authorize the use of military force in hostilities,” Kaine said Tuesday on the Senate floor. “A narrow exception has been long understood: The president as commander-in-chief has the power and duty to defend the nation from ongoing or imminent attack without prior congressional approval. ... The administration has advanced no credible legal basis, under American or international law, to invade Venezuela, depose its leadership, seize its oil and run the country.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has championed Kaine’s proposal, along with Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schumer said Democrats have managed to get some Republicans to agree to vote for a new war powers resolution, “but not enough.”

“And it’s needed now more than ever with a reckless president,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “They don’t have any plans. You can’t do things that way. And so war powers act is extremely, extremely important.”

Still, the Trump administration has work to do in persuading some Republicans who say they’re not sold on what he’s doing in Venezuela.

“I’m hoping to get briefed tomorrow here. What is the situation on the ground? What are our objectives? What’s our policy going forward? I don’t have any idea on any of that stuff,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Still, he sounded torn over whether Congress should step in or whether it should defer to the administration. He said he expects to get briefed Wednesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“I just don’t know,” Hawley said. “I need to hear from them.”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. — who, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has backed Trump's action in Venezuela downplayed his rhetoric about Greenland.

“I don’t see military action being an option there,” he said.

A few hours later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said military action is an option in Greenland.

“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” Leavitt said in a statement. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com