Massie, Paul suggest Venezuela attacks were unconstitutional, favor to big oil
Two members of Congress from Kentucky have emerged as the loudest Republican voices against the Trump administration’s attack in Venezuela, ending in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Longtime political allies and anti-interventionists, Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie have both taken to social media and television airwaves speaking out against President Donald Trump and his support for the action.
On Jan. 3, U.S. forces bombed sites in Venezuela and arrested Maduro, who was then president of the country, and his wife. They killed several dozen Venezuelans and Cuban military personnel during the operation.
Maduro, who has said he considers himself a “prisoner of war,” has pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and allies suggest that the U.S. will play a role in governing the country going forward.
Paul and Massie have both criticized the military action against Venezuela as an overstep of executive authority. They’ve also both championed resolutions to limit Trump’s military actions in Venezuela — one such effort failed in the House and another is anticipated in the Senate.
In a recent interview with FOX Business, Paul called the action a “presidential excess.” He also called back to the country’s founding in explaining his anticipated ‘yes’ vote on the Senate’s war powers resolution.
“(The founding fathers) lamented what had happened with wars, hundreds of years of wars in Europe, fought between the royalty, and they wanted to make it harder to go to war, so they gave the power to declare war to Congress,” Paul said. “I think bombing another nation’s capital and removing their president is an act of war, and I think anybody who argues otherwise has a very difficult argument.”
Paul also offered criticism of the action as not aligned with the president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, which is often interpreted as focusing on the U.S.’s own interests over those of foreign countries.
He claimed that Trump’s thinking was clouded by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is generally seen as a military hawk.
“There should be a law that Lindsey Graham can only go to the White House every other week, and that he’s only to meet with mid-level people, not the president,” Paul told reporters in Washington Monday. “I thought Trump was different. And so it disappoints me that he’s under the thrall of Lindsey Graham.”
Paul was previously a major detractor of U.S. military strikes on boats traveling in the Caribbean Sea, allegedly carrying drugs, which have killed more than 100 people.
Massie, who like Paul has been unafraid to criticize Trump, also expressed disappointment in the action, going even further and suggesting that the operation was carried out to serve U.S. oil companies, commenting on a video of Trump suggesting those companies would go in and “start making money for the country.”
“It seems obvious from this video that the administration worked with big U.S. oil companies before the attack to line up billions of dollars in capital for developing Venezuela’s oil reserves, yet they couldn’t be bothered to consult Congress,” Massie wrote on X.
Massie also pointed out that the hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer, who donated $1 million to a political action committee working against Massie, is likely to benefit handsomely from the regime change in Venezuela. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the hedge fund’s successful November bid for formerly Venezuelan-run Citgo Petroleum looks like a smart move after the U.S. military ousted Maduro.
The Northern Kentucky congressman has defied Trump at several junctures just one year into his presidency. He was a critic of the major Trump-backed budget bill, he decried the bombing of nuclear sites in Iran, and he pushed, against Trump’s wishes, for a resolution releasing files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In response, Trump has offered strong support to Ed Gallrein, a Shelby County native challenging Massie in the May primary. He posted to that effect Monday night on his own Truth Social network. Gallrein recently announced that he raised $1.2 million in the final quarter of 2025.
“I am asking all MAGA Warriors to rally behind Captain Ed Gallrein, the Candidate who is, far and away, best positioned to DEFEAT Third Rate Congressman Thomas Massie, a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the beautiful Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place I love, and won BIG, ALL THREE TIMES,” Trump wrote.
“A Brave Combat Veteran, Ed knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country, Support our Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH. He is a big fan of our recent attack on Nicolas Maduro, the Dictator of Venezuela,” he continued.
Repeating the language of a popular internet meme, Massie mocked Trump’s lengthy post.
“i aint reading all that,” he wrote. “I’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened.”
