The Trump administration’s deployment of the USS Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean should alarm every Utah Republican who values fiscal responsibility, constitutional governance, and America first foreign policy. This naval force now exceeds what we assembled before bombing Libya in 2011, and early reports suggest strikes against Venezuela could come within days. Our Utah Congressional delegation, particularly Senator Mike Lee with his constitutional expertise, must speak up now before America repeats one of our most expensive foreign policy disasters.

The parallels to Libya are clear. In 2011, we told Americans we were conducting limited humanitarian strikes to protect civilians. Within months, we were spending billions to topple Muammar Gaddafi’s government. The mission crept from protection to regime change, and Libya descended into chaos that persists today. Since 2011, American taxpayers have spent over $100 billion dealing with Libya’s aftermath through refugee assistance, counter terrorism operations, and regional stabilization efforts. That is money that could have secured our own border or rebuilt America’s infrastructure. Instead, we created a failed state that became a highway for human trafficking and terrorism.

Now we are assembling an even larger force in the Caribbean under the banner of fighting drug cartels. But aircraft carriers are not built for drug interdiction. They are instruments of regime change. The composition of forces suggests this administration is preparing for sustained air and naval bombardment against Venezuela, not targeted strikes against drug boats. Republicans once understood that America should not be in the business of nation building. Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy succeeded because it was strategic, focused, and avoided costly entanglements that drain our treasury and military readiness. The Libya model represents everything Republicans traditionally oppose: unlimited executive warfare, mission creep, and throwing taxpayer dollars at problems we cannot solve militarily.

Venezuela presents the same temptations Libya did in 2011. Nicolas Maduro is certainly a dictator whose people suffer under his rule. But military intervention will not solve Venezuela’s problems or stop fentanyl from reaching Utah communities. It will likely make both worse. Venezuelan forces remain loyal to Maduro, meaning any intervention would spark a protracted conflict inviting proxy involvement from China and Russia. The resulting chaos would benefit the very cartels we claim to be fighting while creating massive refugee flows that would dwarf current border challenges.

Utah knows something about principled opposition to government overreach. Our delegation should apply that same skepticism to unlimited executive war powers. The Constitution grants Congress, not the President, authority to declare war. Senator Lee has consistently defended the Constitution, and this moment demands his leadership. The real solutions to Venezuela’s crisis align with Republican principles: targeted sanctions against corrupt officials, support for legitimate opposition leaders, and enhanced cooperation with regional allies who understand Latin America better than Washington bureaucrats. These approaches cost taxpayers pennies compared to military campaigns and avoid the constitutional questions surrounding undeclared wars.

Utah voters sent our delegation to Washington to drain the swamp, not create new ones. Military intervention in Venezuela would drain our treasury, strain our military, and contradict everything Republicans claim to believe about limited government and fiscal responsibility. Members of Utah’s Congressional delegation have opportunities to prevent this disaster. They can demand congressional authorization before any military action, hold hearings on intervention costs, and publicly oppose mission creep that transforms counter narcotics operations into regime change campaigns.

Utah’s Congressional Delegation understand’s that real strength means choosing our battles wisely, not jumping into every conflict. We have serious challenges at home: securing our border, rebuilding our economy, and restoring constitutional governance. Spending billions on another Middle East style intervention in South America serves no Utah (or American) interest. The Trump administration still has time to step back from this. But that will only happen if our leaders in Washington make clear that fiscal conservatives will not fund another Libya.

Our representatives must choose: stand with principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility, or enable another costly foreign adventure that contradicts everything their voters sent them to Washington to accomplish. The choice should be easy for any Republican who remembers why we are supposed to be the party of peace through strength, not perpetual war through bankruptcy.