In a rare bipartisan rebuke of President Donald Trump on Thursday, the Senate narrowly advanced a war powers resolution aimed at reining in U.S. military actions in Venezuela — an early sign that Trump may not have the congressional backing he anticipated for an extended military presence there.
In a 52-47 vote, senators agreed to begin debate on a war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that, if successful, would “direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.”
While the vote is only an initial procedural step — the resolution would still need to pass both the Senate and the House and then survive a likely presidential veto — it nonetheless marks a clear admonishment of Trump’s military escalation in Venezuela.
After a similar effort failed in November by a 49-51 vote, five Republicans joined all Democrats to support the war powers vote on Thursday: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Todd Young of Indiana.
Collins, Hawley and Young flipped their votes after the Trump administration’s weekend operation, which placed U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela — without Congress’ authorization or prior knowledge — to capture the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and bring him to New York City to face Justice Department charges.
Since that operation, Democrats and some Republicans have criticized the White House, with Trump continuing to expand his ambitions in Venezuela. In a New York Times interview on Wednesday, the president suggested that the U.S. would be running and extracting oil from Venezuela for “years.”
In a statement, Collins said the president’s comments, coupled with the White House keeping boots on the ground in Venezuela on the table, prompted her vote in support of the resolution.
“While I support the operation to seize Nicolás Maduro, which was extraordinary in its precision and complexity, I do not support committing additional U.S. forces or entering into any long-term military involvement in Venezuela or Greenland without specific congressional authorization,” Collins said.
Although Thursday’s vote is a significant step toward Congress reasserting its war powers, the resolution still faces an uphill battle. For starters, the Trump administration could try to reassure one of its GOP detractors and kill the war powers resolution before it receives a final vote in the Senate. But even if the legislation succeeds in the upper chamber, it would still need a few Republicans to join Democrats in the House.
That vote wouldn’t necessarily be a huge hurdle, given the unease some Republicans — like Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — have expressed toward Trump’s actions in Venezuela. But overriding a veto would be another thing.
A two-thirds majority is required in the House and Senate to override a veto that Trump would almost certainly issue on the resolution — and given the narrow support in both chambers, it would be difficult to reach that threshold. During his first administration, Trump vetoed a war powers resolution in 2019 to rein in his military authority over Yemen. Ultimately, neither chamber was able to override the veto. On Thursday, the administration announced, unsurprisingly, that Trump would veto the legislation should it land on his desk — dashing the chances of the resolution being enacted, but failing to diminish the message sent by the Senate. In a statement, the administration said the measure “should be rejected, like the previously rejected Resolutions, as it once again fails to recognize the ongoing national security threats posed by the Maduro-led Cártel de los Soles and other violent drug-trafficking cartels.” Jack Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
