Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and several far-left Democrats are returning to their old, nasty political playbook.
Same song. New dance.
Waters and her allies are calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment after the capture of Venezuelan’s communist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Waters, the 87-year-old California congresswoman and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Sunday she is “reconsidering” her view on impeachment despite Republican control of Congress.
“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” Waters said in a statement released Sunday.
“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality,” Waters told Axios. “I am reconsidering that view.”
Waters called Trump’s actions an “abuse of power” that “demands a serious and immediate response” from Congress, claiming the president has “gone so far as to publicly boast about his detention of Nicolas Maduro and his wife and to suggest that he can unilaterally determine who governs Venezuela or even claim authority to run the country himself.”
“That is not strength. It is reckless, delusional, and extremely dangerous,” Waters said.
She is not alone.
Far-Left Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., was among the first to demand impeachment Saturday after Trump announced the dictator was facing justice.
“Trump and his administration have lied, consolidated power, and committed war crimes to seize Venezuelan oil and pursue regime change for their imperialist agenda in the Western Hemisphere,” Ramirez said. “They are putting Americans’ safety in danger while destabilizing the region to enrich themselves. Trump must be impeached.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., also claimed that removing a bloody communist dictator was an impeachable offense.
“This violation of the United States Constitution is an impeachable offense,” Goldman said. “I urge my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to finally join Democrats in reasserting congressional authority by holding this president accountable for this gross violation of the Constitution.”
Rep. Jared Huffman of California told Axios the situation might warrant invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, calling Trump’s Venezuela strategy “truly insane” and a “disaster.”
“We are in 25th Amendment territory now,” Huffman said.
Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-M.D., said Democrats must “imminently consider impeachment proceedings.”
“Over the weekend, we saw the President — without authorization or approval from Congress, as required by our Constitution — launch an attack on Venezuela and voice his intention to ‘run’ the country,” Delaney said.
The impeachment calls come after Trump announced Saturday that U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a “large scale strike” against Caracas early Saturday morning.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” left 40 military personnel dead, almost all of them Cuban security forces. Maduro had brought in Cuban soldiers to protect him, because he was so unpopular with his own people he didn’t trust Venezuelan soldiers to protect him.
In true fashion, most Venezuelan military assets never bothered to engage American forces during the extraction. No U.S. soldiers were harmed during the daring operation.
Maduro and his wife face federal charges of narco-terrorism, corruption and illegal possession of automatic firearms in the Southern District of New York. Maduro had previously been indicted in March 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and in August 2025, the U.S. doubled its bounty to $50 million for information leading to his arrest.
Maduro appeared in Manhattan federal court Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country,” Maduro told the judge.
Not all Democrats joined the impeachment push.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-T.X., said the operation was an “important moment for democracy, peace, and the future of children across Latin America and the United States.”