New Hampshire has never believed in kings.
From the town meeting floor to the State House, we are a state that insists power must be earned, justified and restrained. That is why what happened should alarm every Granite Stater — regardless of party.
Without congressional authorization, without provocation and without any imminent threat to the United States, Donald Trump ordered military action against Venezuela. The United States attacked a sovereign nation, killed civilians and forcibly seized its president, Nicolás Maduro, spiriting him off to face trial in this country.
That is not law enforcement. It is an undeclared war.
Presidents do not get to decide — on impulse or political convenience — when America goes to war. The Constitution is explicit: that power belongs to Congress. Trump ignored it because he could, and because he believes no one will stop him.
Representative Jim Himes, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed what many feared: there was no evidence that Venezuela posed a threat justifying military force, no authorization from Congress, and no plan for what comes next. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously denied that the administration was pursuing regime change. That denial now reads as deception.
Senator Andy Kim was even blunter: the administration bypassed Congress because it knows the American people reject another reckless war. Mexico has already condemned the action. Others will follow. Every condemnation weakens America’s standing — and every ally lost leaves states like New Hampshire more economically exposed.
Granite Staters may ask: What does Venezuela have to do with us?
Quite a lot.
War drives instability, instability drives higher oil prices and higher oil prices hit rural states first and hardest. Heating oil costs. Gasoline costs. Transportation costs for small businesses. This action risks pushing fuel prices upward at a time when New Hampshire families are already stretched thin.
There is also the human cost. New Hampshire has veterans who know exactly what “limited strikes” turn into. Senator Ruben Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, warned that this was an illegal war — another unjustified conflict that risks repeating the disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan. Our state sent its sons and daughters to those wars. We live with the consequences still.
The administration now claims this was merely an “arrest operation.” That argument collapses under scrutiny. The president of another country is not a fugitive subject to U.S. police action. If this logic stands, any powerful nation may seize foreign leaders at will. That is not order. It is international anarchy.
And it invites retaliation.
If the United States can do this to Venezuela, what stops Russia from doing the same elsewhere? Or China? This precedent does not make New Hampshire safer. It makes the world more dangerous.
The timing also raises troubling questions. Trump is facing mounting pressure over the Epstein files, a weakening economy and visible signs of decline. History has a name for this tactic: a “wag the dog” war — violence abroad used to distract from failure at home.
Even more disturbing is what comes next. Wartime powers are easily abused. This administration has already shown a willingness to trample civil liberties, target immigrants and treat dissent as disloyalty. A president who ignores Congress abroad will not suddenly respect limits at home.
Congressional Republicans have shown no interest in stopping this. They have surrendered their constitutional role, abandoned the War Powers Act, and accepted presidential violence as normal governance.
That leaves the courts — and the public.
This crisis is inseparable from the Supreme Court’s recent decision granting Trump sweeping immunity. Under Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., the Court gave Trump powers the Framers explicitly feared. He is now testing how far that immunity stretches — straight into war.
New Hampshire has a proud tradition of skepticism toward unchecked power. We do not believe leaders should be obeyed simply because they are loud or claim strength. We believe they must answer to the law.
If Congress does not act — through hearings, funding restrictions or impeachment — it will not be Trump who pays the price first. It will be working families facing higher costs, veterans asked once again to carry the burden, and a country sliding toward executive rule by force.
This is not about Venezuela alone.
It is about whether the Constitution still matters — here, in New Hampshire, and everywhere else.
David Preece is a state representative and the executive director of the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission. He lives in Manchester.