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jim mcgovern
Congressmen Unveil Bipartisan War Powers Resolution to Block Trump War on Venezuela
"No conflict for oil, no armed intervention, no war with Venezuela!" said Rep. Jim McGovern.
Dec 03, 2025
As President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth face mounting fury over their deadly boat bombings and threats against Venezuela, a trio of US lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan war powers resolution aimed at blocking any attacks on the South American country not authorized by Congress.
"Donald Trump claimed he would put America first—instead, he's trying to drag us into an illegal war in Venezuela," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House Rules Committee and co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in a statement. "Whatever this is about, it has nothing to do with stopping drugs."
"Trump just pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was convicted of sending cocaine to the US. And... he pardoned a guy who brought fentanyl in from China via the dark web," he highlighted. "To me, this appears to be all about creating a pretext for regime change. And I believe Congress has a duty to step in and assert our constitutional authority. No more illegal boat strikes, and no unauthorized war in Venezuela."
So far, congressional efforts to prevent Trump from waging war on Venezuela and continuing to blow up boats the administration claims are running drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific—the US military has attacked 22 vessels and killed at least 83 people—have not been successful.
On Tuesday, while answering questions about reporting that the first vessel attack on September 2 involved a double-tap strike that killed survivors, the president signaled he will soon pursue long-threatened attacks on Venezuelan soil.
"We're going to start doing those strikes on land too," Trump said. "The land is much easier" than bombing boats, "and we know the routes they take," he continued, referring to alleged drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), a co-sponsor of the new resolution and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, said that "President Trump has undermined our alliances in the Western Hemisphere, openly interfered in elections, conducted illegal strikes on boats in the Caribbean, and threatened foreign military intervention."
"He has put our country at the brink of a war with Venezuela without a debate or vote in the Congress," Castro said of Trump. "This resolution will ensure that every member of the House is on the record about sending service members to a war that Americans do not want."
Castro and McGovern are spearheading the new push with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who previously joined with Democrats to force the House's November vote on releasing federal files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Trump's former friend. The bill is also backed by three California Democrats: Reps. Sara Jacobs, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Ro Khanna.
"The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn't attacked the United States," Massie stressed. "Congress has the sole power to declare war against Venezuela. Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution."
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Urgent Appeal to Rep. McGovern: Stop the US-Israeli Starvation of Gaza
Are we expected to observe this genocide through starvation being conducted with our tax dollars, with our own government's full partnership, before our eyes, minute-to-minute, and do nothing?
Jul 23, 2025
On July 21, I and other constituents of Democratic U.S. Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts who are active with three community organizations—River Valley for Palestine, Demilitarize Western Mass., and Leahy Fast for Palestine—sent an emergency email regarding the engineered starvation in Gaza to two staff members responsible for foreign policy issues in Mr. McGovern's Washington D.C. office. The full text of the letter is provided below. We received a response that did little more than list a few of Mr. McGovern's votes. It was Capitol Hill boilerplate.
Congress is due to begin its "summer recess" on July 25, though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) may begin the break early to spare U.S. President Donald Trump further embarrassment regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and fellow pedophiles. As Gaza enters what experts call the "Fifth Phase" (most acute and deadly) of the deliberate Israeli-U.S. designed starvation, and people collapse in the streets, members of Congress will hit U.S. beaches, campgrounds, and cookouts.
We urge all Common Dreams readers to immediately contact their members of Congress to demand that Congress remain in session throughout the summer and reverse all U.S. policies supporting Israel. (On July 18, Rep. McGovern voted AGAINST an amendment that would have prevented the provision of $500 million in weapons to Israel. This vote makes our member of Congress complicit in genocide.)
Open Letter to Staffers of U.S. Congressman James McGovern, 7/21/25:
Dear ---,
We are writing to you, with utmost urgency, as constituents of Rep. McGovern and as members of Northampton-based organizations: River Valley for Palestine, Demilitarize Western Mass., and Leahy Fast for Palestine. Mr. McGovern knows some of us on a first-name basis. Since October 7, 2023, we have been in steady contact with him and with [former senior staffer] regarding the genocide in Gaza.
We understand that [former senior staffer] has moved on, and that you are assuming her responsibilities covering foreign policy for the congressman. We wish you the very best and look forward to building a relationship with you.
In another email, we would like to address a number of issues about Israel-Palestine and provide some background about our efforts in communicating with Representative McGovern. But in this message, we are operating under an urgent need to get to the immediate point of the matter: Israel's deliberate, systematic policy of starvation of the entire 2-million-plus population of the Gaza Strip and U.S. collaboration in this horrific criminal enterprise.
We need Mr. McGovern to use his "bully pulpit" NOW, in 2025 and to bring equal passion and visibility to the desperate needs of the people of Gaza.
We're sure you're aware that the complete blockade of all goods and services entering the Gaza Strip has been enforced by the U.S.-supported Israel Defense Forces since March 2 of this year; that the population of Gaza had already been worn down by over a year and a half of partial blockade, heavy bombardment, etc, as well as years of blockade, deprivation, and warfare before that; that the U.S.-Israeli "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" is a "mousetrap" whereby more than 1,000 Gazans have been gunned down and over 7,000 wounded in attempting to receive food aid at a few militarized sites in the far southwest corner of the territory; that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which had operated over 400 food-aid sites throughout the Gaza Strip, has been prohibited from operating for a long period of time; that nearly all food markets and community kitchens are now closed due to lack of food; that Israel and the U.S. have deliberately created a situation in which there are violent gangs, a black market, and astronomically high prices for the few available goods; that there is no fuel to run water desalination plants or for other critical needs; and that Israeli-U.S. policy has systematically and by design destroyed Gaza's healthcare system.
The resultant situation is predictable, indeed, planned: People are now dying in the streets, too weak to rise to their feet. As Alex de Waal, international famine expert, said on Democracy Now's program July 21, "There is no case since World War II of starvation that has been so minutely designed and controlled." United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri said in March of 2024 that in his expert opinion, "Israel's starvation of Gaza is genocide."
Are we expected to observe this genocide through starvation being conducted with our tax dollars, with our own government's full partnership, before our eyes, minute-to-minute, and do nothing?
Congressman McGovern is the founder and cochair of the House Hunger Caucus. He is cochair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. We know of the congressman's commendable actions during the Darfur genocide when he was arrested three times protesting the crimes against humanity in western Sudan. We need Mr. McGovern to use his "bully pulpit" NOW, in 2025 and to bring equal passion and visibility to the desperate needs of the people of Gaza.
We ask that you convey to Congressman McGovern our immediate and urgent request that he speak on the House floor TOMORROW, in his capacities as cochair of the Hunger Caucus and Tom Lantos Commission, and demand: 1) that the U.S. government inform Israel that the blockade must end immediately; 2) that Gaza's borders and coastline must be opened immediately; 3) that all of the aid sitting at Gaza's borders must be allowed in immediately—UNDER UNRWA SUPERVISION AND AUSPICES; and 4) that the U.S. take the lead in shipping, via U.S. military cargo aircraft and naval vessels, food and other humanitarian provisions to the people of Gaza on an ongoing basis.
Vis-à-vis No. 4 above: To be clear—we are not asking Congressman McGovern to call for airdrops of food or humanitarian supplies by the U.S. or any country into Gaza. This is NOT the correct approach. The correct approach is permanently opening the borders of Gaza, allowing aid to enter via trucks. Aid should also be delivered via U.S. and E.U. navies at the Gaza coastline. All aid deliveries must be overseen by UNRWA, as previously.
Beyond this speech from the floor of the House, we ask that Congressman McGovern work assiduously and daily to use his public microphone, private powers of persuasion, and media contacts to get other members of Congress to join him in these demands, including exercising his right to employ nonviolent civil disobedience for the people of Gaza, as he so admirably did on behalf of the people of Darfur on three separate occasions in 2006, 2009, and 2012.
A final note: On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a groundbreaking Advisory Opinion about Israel's illegal occupation of Gaza and all the Occupied Territories, and pointed out the legal jeopardy of governments, private organizations, and individuals in supporting Israel's actions or failing to take immediate steps to stop them, since they are in flagrant contravention of many international laws and norms. As you know, the U.S. is breaking many domestic laws in supporting Israel's genocide as well.
We would appreciate hearing from you on an emergency basis. Thank you.
Sincerely,
River Valley for Palestine
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House GOP Has 'Shut Down Congress' to Avoid Voting on Epstein Files
"Who's he gonna pick?" Republican Thomas Massie asked of Speaker Mike Johnson. "Is he going to stand with the pedophiles and underage sex traffickers? Or is he gonna pick the American people and justice for the victims?"
Jul 22, 2025
Republicans on the House Rules Committee have ground business in the chamber to a halt to avoid having to vote on Democratic amendments calling for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
For weeks now, Republicans in Congress, facing pressure from the White House, have dodged efforts to force the release of the files, which may implicate U.S. President Donald Trump in crimes committed by the convicted sex criminal.
According to Axios, the House had been scheduled to vote on GOP legislation involving immigration and environmental legislation this week. But in order for these votes to reach the floor, they'd first need to pass through the Speaker-controlled Rules Committee, which has also been presented with multiple Epstein amendments.
Republicans on House Rules "don't want to vote no because they're then accused of helping hide the truth about Epstein," Punchbowl News reported Tuesday morning. So instead, they've chosen to simply stop work for the week to avoid having to vote at all.
This has essentially ground all business in the House to a halt, potentially until after Congress gets back from its August recess.
On Monday, the ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee, Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), told Politico reporter Mia Camille, "We're done in [the] Rules Committee until September."
"The Rules Committee decides what gets voted on in the House. It's where Republicans have already voted six times against forcing the release of the Epstein files," said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.). "They'd rather shut down Congress than vote to release the files. What are they hiding?"
The Epstein cloud has only grown thicker over the White House over the past week after The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2003, Trump gave Epstein a salacious letter for his 50th birthday containing talk of a "secret" between the two men and a drawing of a nude woman. Trump has sued The Journal, calling the letter "a fake thing."
The New York Times later reported that a decade earlier, Trump hosted a party full of young women where Epstein was the only other guest.
Amid the drip of scandal, the White House has remained dismissive of calls, including from the president's own supporters, for the Department of Justice to release all its files related to Epstein.
Not long ago, officials in his administration made promises to release the files themselves, assuring damning revelations. But now, Trump describes the files as a "hoax" by the "radical left." Of the Trump-faithful who have called for their release, he said, "I don't want their support anymore!"
Late last week, Trump called for the DOJ to release grand jury transcripts pertaining to the investigation. But many other critical pieces of information, including ones that could implicate the president, would remain hidden.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has closely coordinated the House GOP's response to the Epstein fiasco with the White House, saying repeatedly that there is "no daylight" between his position and that of the administration.
Johnson last week introduced a non-binding resolution to provide the public with "certain" Epstein-related documents, but it had no legal weight, allowing the White House to have total control over the information they disclosed. But even that resolution, Johnson said, would not be brought forth for a vote until after the August recess.
This has provoked the ire of a fellow Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who—along with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.)—drafted a discharge petition last week in an attempt to force a vote on the Epstein files onto the House floor.
"I think this is the referendum on [Johnson's] leadership," Massie said. "Who's he gonna pick? Is he going to stand with the pedophiles and underage sex traffickers? Or is he gonna pick the American people and justice for the victims?"
Last week, a CNN/SSRS poll found that just 3% of Americans were satisfied with the amount of information the government had released about the Epstein files, while more than half said they were dissatisfied.
"This is the ultimate decision the speaker needs to make. And it's irrespective of what the president wants," Massie said.
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