US Ex-Speaker Pelosi Lambasts Trump Over Venezuelan Strikes, Decries Constitutional Violations

Former United States House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has criticised President Donald Trump’s administration over the use of U.S. military force in Venezuela, arguing that the White House failed to justify the action on national security grounds and bypassed Congress.

In a statement issued on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, January 3, 2026, Pelosi said, “Venezuela is ruled by an illegitimate regime, but the Administration has not made the case that an urgent threat to America’s national security existed to justify the use of U.S. military force.”

She accused President Trump of undermining the constitutional role of Congress, particularly its authority over war powers.

“President Trump has made no secret of his intentions to effectively abolish the Congress, and that pattern continues today with his flagrant disregard for the Article One war powers of Congress which is essential to our constitutional system of checks and balances,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi also questioned the administration’s justification for the operation if it was based on drug trafficking allegations against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“If the President grounds his actions on the basis of drug trafficking charges, it is entirely hypocritical in light of his recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández who was responsible for bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine in the United States in order to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,’” she stated.

She further noted what she described as a contradiction in the administration’s legal stance, saying, “The Administration says Maduro will be tried for drug trafficking in a U.S. court, but Hernández was convicted of the same crime by an American jury and Trump pardoned him.”

Pelosi called for immediate congressional oversight, insisting that lawmakers be informed of the scope and implications of the military action.

“Congress must be fully and immediately briefed on the strikes and regime change in Venezuela, the objectives and extent of this operation, and how the Administration intends to prevent further regional fallout,” she said.