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Writer's pictureAlex Kawa

Will Congress Stop Trump's War with Venezuela?


On Wednesday, President Trump announced, as part of his daily press conferences regarding the coronavirus pandemic, that he was deploying Navy ships to Venezuela in an effort to ramp up the administration's "counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean following a U.S. drug indictment against Nicolás Maduro." This move is yet another example of the Trump's escalating tensions towards Venezuela, having already imposed several rounds of sanctions on the country. As the United States, as well as the rest of the world, is facing a global pandemic, we must spend our money on pandemic relief efforts, rather than getting involved in another regime-change war overseas. Congress can stop Trump from going to war with Venezuela, but will they? The party leaders in both the House and the Senate have not spoken about the president's announcement Wednesday, and there may be reason for that.


Nancy Pelosi: The House Speaker has taken $17,500 in PAC money from the defense industry throughout the current election cycle. Additionally, from lobbyists for the industry -- Steven Elmendorf ($10,600), David J. Leiter ($5,000), Heather Podesta ($4,000), Lawrence F. O'Brien III ($3,350), Stacey Alexander ($2,500), Jimmy Ryan ($2,500), Timothy Hannegan ($1,500), Susan Buck ($1,000), Kevin Casey ($1,000), Thomas A. Davis ($1,000), Lynnette Jacquez ($1,000), Kevin F. Kelly ($1,000), Daniella Landau ($1,000), Chris J. Miller ($1,000), Todd Wooten ($1,000), Christina Hamilton ($500), and Jennifer Poersch ($500) -- Pelosi and her associated PAC, PAC to the Future, have accepted a total of $37,450.


Mitch McConnell: The Senate Majority Leader, during the 2020 election, in PAC money, has taken $129,500 from the defense industry. He and his associated PAC, Bluegrass Committee, have also taken $63,950 from lobbyists -- namely Terry L. Paul ($5,100), Chris C. Cox ($5,000), Rashid Hallaway ($4,600), Michael Zehr ($3,800), Lanny Griffith ($3,700), Shawn Smeallie ($3,500), Haley Barbour ($3,100), Charles Black ($2,800), Jeffrey M. Walter ($2,800), Robert J. Dotchin ($2,500), Josh Holly ($2,500), John Milne ($2,500), Bernie Robinson ($2,500), Andy Keiser ($2,000), Daniel Murphy ($2,000), Lauren O'Brien ($2,000), Robert L. Livingston ($1,100), Carolyn Coda ($1,000), David Phillip Cohen ($1,000), G. Stewart Hall ($1,000), Greta Joynes ($1,000), Jeffrey McMillen ($1,000), James R. Meltsner ($1,000), Rick Murphy ($1,000), Kyle Nevins ($1,000), Steve Stombres ($1,000), Erskine Wells ($1,000), Lester Munson ($500), Walker Roberts ($500), Jonathan Slemrod ($500), Pamela J. Turner ($500), Whitaker Askew ($250), and John J. O'Neill ($200).


Kevin McCarthy: Throughout the 2020 election cycle, the defense industry has contributed $57,000 in PAC money to the House Minority Leader. Meanwhile, he and his PAC, Majority Committee PAC, have collectively received $143,100 from industry lobbyists -- namely Chris C. Cox ($19,950), James Richards ($17,475), Ed Kutler ($15,000), Mike Ference ($11,875), Steve Strombres ($10,600), Chris Giblin ($10,000), John Scofield ($10,000), Kyle Nevins ($8,000), Robert J. Dotchin ($5,000), John Milne ($5,000), Thomas A. Davis ($3,750), John J. O'Neill ($3,500), Bryan Cunningham ($2,500), Gregg L. Hartley ($2,500), Carl Kime ($2,500), Anthony Lazarski ($2,000), Jeffery Green ($1,500), Josh Holly ($1,500), Letitia White ($1,500), Michael Herson ($1,250), Van D. Hipp Jr. ($1,250), Paul Cambon ($1,000), Robert L. Livingston ($1,000), J. Allen Martin ($1,000), Rick Murphy ($1,000), Shawn Smeallie ($1,000), Martin Delgado ($750), Brian Glackin ($500), and Franklyn Steinberg ($500).


Chuck Schumer: The Senate Minority Leader was last up for re-election in 2016, when he received $84,000 in from the defense industry in PAC money. In addition, lobbyists contributed $124,917 to him and his PAC, Impact, these lobbyists being Alfonse M. D'Amato ($5,400), Heather Podesta ($5,400), Michael D. Smith ($5,400), Vincent Roberti ($5,200), Stephanie Martz ($5,000), Darrel Thompson ($5,000), Katharine Lister ($4,400), Joel Jankowsky ($4,200), Lawrence F. O'Brien III ($4,200), David Castagnetti ($4,000), Erick Mullen ($4,000), H. Stewart Van Scoyoc ($3,200), Robert A. Russell ($3,000), Gerald T. Harrington ($2,700), Linda H. Daschle ($2,500), Timothy Hannegan ($2,500), Timothy Keating ($2,500), Izzy Klein ($2,500), Jennifer Poersch ($2,500), John Breaux ($2,000), Nicole Diresta ($2,000), Joseph P. O'Neill ($2,000), Tony Podesta ($2,000, as well as $5,400 form family members), Shawn Smeallie ($1,667), Bertram Carp ($1,500), Thomas J. O'Donnell ($1,500), David R. Thomas ($1,150), Cristina Antelo ($1,000), Linda W. Banton ($1,000), Paul Bock ($1,000), Marshall A. Brachman ($1,000), Scott Burnison ($1,000), Paul Carliner ($1,000), Gabrielle Carruth ($1,000), Matthew Cutts ($1,000), Lawrence Duncan III ($1,000), Steven Eichenauer ($1,000), Jonathan Etherton ($1,000), Kristine Kearns Fauser ($1,000), Edward O. Fritts ($1,000), Douglas M. Gregory ($1,000), Gerald Harvey ($1,000), Sudafi Henry ($1,000), Lynnette Jacquez ($1,000), Leo C. Jardot ($1,000), Paul Juola ($1,000), Kevin F. Kelly ($1,000), Robert J. Leonard ($1,000), Marcus Mason ($1,000), Heather Meade ($1,000), Charles J. Mellody ($1,000), Janice M. O'Connell ($1,000), Patrick John O'Neill ($1,000), Ed Pagano ($1,000), Thomas H. Quinn ($1,000), Arshi Siddiqui ($1,000), John M. Simmons ($1,000), Gregory Walters ($1,000), Jeff Bjornstad ($500), John Crumbliss ($500), James Fraser ($500), Kaylene Green ($500), Andrew Howell ($500), Andrew Kauders ($500), Thomas J. Keating ($500), John P. Mulligan ($500), Mark Rey ($500), Pete Rose ($500), Rich Thomas ($500), Kenneth Wetzel Jr. ($500), Samuel Olchyk ($250), Charles Wooters ($250). Also, Schumer took $6,500 from family members of Daschle ($2,500), Castagnetti ($2,000), and Heather Podesta ($2,000).


Given who they have taken money from, it should come as no surprise that party leaders in Congress have been silent on Trump's escalation of tensions with Venezuela. Hopefully, they will condemn them sooner rather than later and push legislation to stop a war. However, if they are listening to these donors, let's not hold our breaths on that happening.

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