Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and other lawmakers renewed calls for congressional oversight Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country's coast, an operation U.S. officials described as a sanctions-enforcement action involving the Coast Guard and other agencies.
"It sounds a lot like the beginning of a war," Paul told NewsNation's Hannah Brandt, adding, "I'm not really in favor of beginning wars with other countries."
Paul has been one of the most vocal and consistent GOP skeptics of the administration's expanding Venezuela posture and recently teamed with Democrat Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Adam Schiff of California, on a War Powers Resolution aimed at blocking U.S. armed forces from engaging in hostilities "within or against" Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress.
Paul said that while he "detests" Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and socialism, it isn't "the job of the American government to go looking for monsters around the world, looking for adversaries, and beginning wars."
Democrats also pointed to the tanker seizure as part of a broader pattern of escalation.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told the outlet he is "gravely concerned that [Trump] is sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela."
Other Republicans were less definitive than Paul, with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., saying he would "look into it," while Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said they had not been briefed on the matter.
The seizure involved the tanker Skipper (previously known as the Adisa), which U.S. officials said was tied to sanctioned oil networks.
Venezuela's government condemned the action as "international piracy."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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