Welch: “It might be Trump First, or it might be Chevron First. But it’s not America First.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In remarks from the Senate floor this week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, outlined how President Trump’s illegal military actions in Venezuela stand to deliver huge payouts for the oil industry and do nothing for everyday Americans.
“A mobilization of this size costs hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions. This operation is—and apparently always has been—about one thing: seizing control of Venezuela’s oil,” said Senator Welch. “I think it’s a fair question: if that’s the President’s goal, what’s in it for farmers in Vermont? Small business owners in Ohio? For the elementary school teacher in Texas? For a truck mechanic in South Dakota? There’s absolutely nothing in it for everyday Americans.”
“So, what about this operation is ‘America First?’ It might be Trump First, or it might be Chevron First. But it’s not America First. And we just saw the revelation that a major donor to President Trump—bought at bargain-basement prices, a Chevron subsidiary—can stand to make literally billions of dollars.”
Watch Senator Welch’s speech below:
Senator Welch also emphasized also emphasized that no President has the legal authority, without congressional authorization, to take America into military conflict and urged Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority to declare war:
“Will we do our job? This is not optional. Article I of the United States Constitution says it is up to Congress to authorize the use of military force in going to war. It is our job and it’s our responsibility. One of the enormous threats to our democracy right now is the capitulation of too many members of the House, and too many members of the Senate, of powers that are vested in this body under the Constitution and ceding those authorities to the chief executive.
“Why is that wrong? It’s wrong because there is wisdom in the Constitution’s separation of powers that power cannot be concentrated in one branch of government. And it is, as a result, of one branch of government ceding its authority and its responsibility to the executive. We have an obligation to protect our constitutional role—and it’s not about us. It’s about our country. And what is a greater responsibility than the decision to send men and women into combat? That’s our job.”
Read Senator Welch’s remarks as delivered here.
Senator Welch has urged Congress to reassert its constitutional authority and pass new legislation to prohibit the unauthorized use of U.S. Armed Forces in hostilities in Venezuela. Earlier this week, the Senator condemned President Trump’s use of military force to remove Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela as illegal and unconstitutional. Senator Welch has also expressed strong opposition to the President’s mobilization of the Vermont Air National Guard, alongside thousands of other U.S. military units, to support Operation Southern Spear.
In October, Senator Welch voted in support of a War Powers Act Resolution led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to stop Trump’s unconstitutional attacks in the Caribbean Sea and urged the Senate to question President Trump’s legal authority to take the United States to war. Senator Welch also led every Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat in demanding answers from the Department of Justice about the legality of military actions ordered by President Trump that have now killed at over 100 people in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
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