U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski struck a note of skepticism in her reaction to Saturday’s military operation ousting Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro.
“While I am hopeful that this morning’s actions have made the world a safer place,” Murkowski wrote in a social media post Saturday, “the manner in which the United States conducts military operations, as well as the authority under which these operations take place, is important.”
She said the Trump administration hasn’t given Congress enough information to evaluate the legal basis for it.
Murkowski is among a handful of Republicans in Congress to raise questions or doubts about the operation. In November, she was one of only two GOP senators who voted to support a measure that would have blocked military action in Venezuela without the approval of Congress.
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s response was more in line with the majority of congressional Republicans. He issued a statement praising President Trump and commending the military for its skill and courage. Sullivan’s post did not directly address Trump’s pronouncement that the U.S. would temporarily “run” Venezuela, but it did reference “painful and difficult lessons learned” from the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. That invasion rid a country of its dictator but enmeshed the United States in an eight-year war.
Alaska Congressman Nick Begich also praised Saturday’s military action in Caracas, calling it a “flawless execution of American power and capability.”
