Politics

Schatz said it is not obvious to him that they have permission to establish an overseas account.

Schatz said he does not think they know what their plan is.

Casten noted comparable cases of the United States seeking to control foreign oil such as in Iraq were backed by congressional authorization and U.N. Security Council approval.

Schatz said if money were expended it is subject to miscellaneous receipts and would have to be appropriated.

Schatz and other lawmakers said the administration was operating outside the appropriations process and federal law.

Democrats said it appeared there was no legal underpinning for how the administration was collecting banking or disbursing the money.

Senator Chuck Schumer said the American people deserve to know what is happening with the money received from these Venezuelan oil payments and where and to whom they are going

Bessent said he was not aware of a finalized agreement governing Venezuelan oil funds and confirmed no audit agreement was in place.

He added there is no reason that Trump should be circumventing the US banking system and lining the pockets of his big oil buddies rather than driving down costs for hard-working Americans

Democratic members of the House and Senate were not satisfied with explanations about handling the supervision and disbursement of $500 million in proceeds from Venezuelan oil.

Bessent cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act but struggled to explain how it applied when asked under what statutory authority the Treasury Department was exercising custody and control over the money.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the approach as an emergency arrangement to avert chaos and ensure stability after the United States removed Venezuela’s leader.

Democrats said their goal was to force the administration to close offshore accounts holding the money and instead use domestic financial institutions that would be subject to congressional oversight

She said the Trump administration was seeking to intimidate members of Congress to get other people beyond them to think twice about speaking out

It is something they are all taught

When the law and orders are in conflict you follow the law

It is on a plaque at West Point referring to the Loyalty to the Constitution plaque at the military academy

It is pretty black and white

President Trump asserted in a social media post last month that hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds would be controlled by him

Top Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Wednesday calling on the White House to submit to independent accounting of the funds and their uses after lawmakers unsuccessfully pressed Cabinet officials for justification for the administration’s approach