BREAKING: Democrats call for Trump to be impeached for Venezuela strikes as they slam ‘declaration of war’. Read below for full story 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Democrats have begun calling for Congress to impeach Donald Trump, accusing the president’s strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro of being ‘illegal’
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago club, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla

Democrats have accused Trump of acting unconstitutionally by approving strikes on Venezuela and the capture of its president

Top Democrats have called for Congress to take action after Donald Trump ordered overnight strikes on Venezuela and announced the country’s president had been “captured”.

Former Congressman Justin Amash said Trump, who has repeatedly called himself a “peacemaker” and “president of peace,” should be impeached after the strikes, which hit Venezuela’s capital of Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning. On X, Amash wrote: “No war in Venezuela! Only Congress can authorize military hostilities, and they have not done so. Offensive military action by the United States without a lawful declaration of war is unconstitutional and impeachable.”

New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury echoed Amash’s demand. “The White House is confirming U.S. military operations in Venezuela tonight. Let us be clear: these strikes are illegal,” she wrote on X. “The President does not have the authority to declare war or undertake large-scale military operations without Congress. Congress must act to rein him in. Immediately,” Stansbury added.

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At least seven explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas at around 2am on Saturday as US forces launched a “large-scale strike”. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country, Trump on social media hours after the attack.

The Venezuelan government called the strikes an “imperialist attack” and urged citizens to take to the streets. Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was confirmed safe after the attack, asked Donald Trump to provide “proof of life” as she said the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife are unknown.

Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026.
Explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday

Congressional Democrats and even some Republicans have pushed back against the Trump administration’s military buildup in Venezuela in recent months. “This war is illegal,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote on X shortly after Saturday’s strikes.

“I fought in some of the hardest battles of the Iraq War. Saw my brothers die, saw civilians being caught in the crossfire all for an unjustified war. No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela,” he added.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also questioned Trump’s decision to approve the strikes. “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” he wrote on X.

In a later post, Lee added: “Just got off the phone with @SecRubio He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me apprised.”

Handout photo released by the Miraflores presidential palace press office showing Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (R) accompanied by his wife Cilia Flores raising their clenched fists during a civil-military parade to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the coup that briefly removed late Venezuelan president (1999-2013) Hugo Chavez from power, in Caracas on April 13, 2022.

Can Donald Trump be impeached?
Democrats attempted to impeach Trump during his first term, but at no point did he have to leave office, until he lost the election to Joe Biden.

Trump served out the rest of his first term, but in 2021 he was impeached for a second time in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, becoming the first president in American history to be impeached twice. The Senate acquitted him in February 2021 after he had already left office.

It is not immediately clear who is now running Venezuela. Under Venezuelan law the vice president would take power but there was no confirmation that had happened.

However, Rodríguez did issue a statement after the attack. “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” she said. “We demand proof of life.”

Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York. He had denied the accusations and decried the US military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.