Explosive Senate Clash: Rand Paul Asks Rubio If Kidnapping Trump Would Be an Act of War
“Would It Be an Act of War if They Did It to Us?” Senator Rand Paul Explodes at Marco Rubio Over the ‘Illegal’ Extraction of Maduro and the Erosion of Constitutional War Powers
In a Senate hearing that felt more like a constitutional trial than a routine legislative briefing, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky delivered a searing critique of American foreign policy that has left the halls of Congress buzzing. The focal point of the exchange was the recent, high-stakes federal operation in Venezuela—a four-and-a-half-hour “extraction” that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro, a man the United States no longer recognizes as a head of state and who faces significant drug trafficking indictments in American courts. While the administration and its supporters have hailed the mission as a “perfect military operation” with minimal casualties, Senator Paul argues that the event represents a “nuclear” violation of the U.S. Constitution and a dangerous precedent for global stability.
The confrontation began when Senator Paul challenged Marco Rubio, a key voice in the administration’s foreign policy strategy, to address the “one-way arguments” that he believes dominate Washington’s thinking. Paul presented a hypothetical scenario that left the room in stunned silence: If a foreign country bombed our air defenses, blockaded our ports, and forcibly removed a sitting U.S. President—all within a “perfect” four-hour window with no casualties—would we consider that an act of war? Rubio’s immediate response was a firm “of course,” acknowledging that such an invasion of American sovereignty would trigger a formal declaration of war.
“I’m probably the most anti-war person in the Senate,” Paul shot back, “and I would vote to declare war if someone invaded our country and took our president.” His point was surgical: if the U.S. would view these actions as war when done to us, why are we allowed to label them as mere “kinetic actions” or “drug busts” when we do them to others? This “linguistic gymnastics,” according to Paul, is a disservice to both the Constitution and the soldiers who execute these missions. By defining war away through bureaucratic euphemisms, the executive branch effectively bypasses the Congressional authority to initiate conflict—a power the founders intended to be “virtually unanimous” in the hands of the people’s representatives.
The legal justification provided by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) came under intense fire during the hearing. The OLC’s argument suggested that the Venezuela operation did not rise to the “constitutional notion of war” because not enough people died. Senator Paul ridiculed this metric, pointing out the absurdity of having to wait for a specific death toll—”scope, nature, and extent”—before the law recognizes a war is happening. “If we have to wait to see how many people are killed,” Paul argued, “the war has been going on for some time. It’s hard to vote to initiate a war that’s been going on.” He cited the 50,000 to 60,000 lives lost in Vietnam as a grim reminder that wait-and-see policies are catastrophic.
The debate also touched on the dangerous precedent of using criminal indictments to justify military force. Rubio argued that the U.S. was simply removing an “indicted drug trafficker” under American law. Paul countered that such logic leads to international chaos. He noted that leaders like Bolsonaro in Brazil, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and even the current U.S. President have had their legitimacy questioned by political opponents. If a “bad election” or a foreign indictment is the only predicate needed for a military extraction, then no world leader is safe. He specifically mentioned the ICC’s indictment of Benjamin Netanyahu, noting that the U.S. would never tolerate an international council arresting an American president on foreign soil.
“We do what we do because we have the force, we have the might,” Paul stated bluntly. He argued that the U.S. acts in its national interest but warned that our arguments are “empty” if they cannot be universally applied. By blockading a country and removing its leaders without a vote from Congress, the president is operating as an unchecked authority—a trend Paul believes has been accelerating for 70 years across multiple administrations.
The exchange concluded with a call for a return to the “checks and balances” that define the American system. While Rubio maintained that the U.S. will always act in its national interest to protect its system, Paul insisted that the Constitution was designed precisely to prevent presidents from “doing whatever they want.” As the video of this explosive hearing continues to circulate, it serves as a stark reminder of the fragile state of American law and the high price of “perfect” military operations that bypass the democratic process. Whether you agree with the mission’s outcome or not, the “moral debate” over who has the power to start a war remains the most vital question facing the republic today.