Nicolás Maduro is a brutal dictator who has caused immense suffering. However, the way to fight authoritarianism abroad is not to embrace it at home.

Foreign policy is not the personal domain of a president. Congress has a constitutional role to serve as the voice of the people and a restraint on power. One of the oldest moves in the authoritarian playbook is to sideline the legislature and strip away checks and balances. That’s Step 3 in the autocrat's playbook.

In our democracy, actions of this magnitude and decisions about what happens next, must go through Congress — not be dictated by a president who admires authoritarians and rules like one.