WASHINGTON — Three Democratic senators have introduced new legislation aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from launching military operations against Cuba without first obtaining approval from Congress, responding to the president’s recent remarks about a potential “takeover” of the island nation.
The measure, submitted Thursday by Senators Tim Kaine, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff, would mandate that the president withdraw U.S. forces from any military engagement with Cuba and may come up for a vote before the month concludes. This represents the latest effort by Democrats to use war powers legislation to challenge Trump’s foreign policy decisions, though GOP lawmakers have generally supported the administration’s approach.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution, but he operates with the belief that the U.S. military is a palace guard, ordering military action in the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without Congress’ authorization or any explanation for his actions to the American people,” Kaine stated.
The president revealed earlier this week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently in discussions with Cuban officials while the nation struggles with a severe energy shortage made worse by ongoing U.S. sanctions against the island.
“It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover,” Trump explained to journalists during a recent press briefing in Florida, noting that he and Rubio plan to pursue this objective following the conflict with Iran.
Relations between Washington and Havana have remained strained for decades, but Trump’s willingness to employ military force against international adversaries has sparked concerns that Cuba might become the next target. Rubio, whose Cuban family relocated to America during the 1950s, has consistently advocated for taking a hardline stance against the Caribbean nation’s government.
Speaking to fellow senators earlier this year, Rubio indicated the Trump administration would welcome Cuban leadership change but emphasized “that does not mean we are going to provoke it directly.” Congressional Republicans have largely endorsed the administration’s confrontational international approach.
Nevertheless, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly turned to war powers measures to spark discussions about Trump’s authority to deploy military forces overseas. While none of these efforts have succeeded in becoming law, the strategy has occasionally pushed the administration to clarify its intentions to lawmakers.
Democratic leaders are also preparing to potentially call votes next week on multiple war powers resolutions concerning Iran, unless Republican colleagues agree to conduct public hearings about the ongoing conflict.
“He ran on America First, but now it’s clear he’s become a puppet of the war hawks in his party,” Gallego commented.
