The Office of Legal Counsel told select lawmakers that the executive branch is not bound by the War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional approval for any military action that exceeds 60 days.
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If the government ignores the Monday deadline, he said, “it is usurping Congress’s authority over the use of military force.” Under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war. The president needs lawmakers’ approval for sustained military action under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which was passed in the wake of the Vietnam War to prevent another drawn-out, undeclared conflict.
A top Justice Department lawyer has told lawmakers that the Trump administration can continue its lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America — and is not bound by a decades-old law requiring Congress to give approval for ongoing hostilities.
T. Elliot Gaiser, head of the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel, made his remarks to a small group of lawmakers this week amid signs that the president may be planning to escalate the military campaign in the region, including potentially hitting targets within Venezuela.
“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse. Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Yet, American companies are buying Venezuelan heavy oil to feed gulf coast refineries? Venezuelan oil continues to make its way into the US even after sanctions were reinstated, due to a joint-venture license Chevron was granted to pump oil there. That license was set to be revoked on April 3, however, after Trump met with Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and other oil executives last week, the Treasury Department announced on Monday it would be extended to May 27. Does it continue to this day?
