House GOP blocks bipartisan bid to curb Trump’s Venezuela war powers
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A majority of House Republicans came together Thursday to defeat a bipartisan war powers resolution that could restrict President Donald Trump from taking future military action in Venezuela.
House GOP, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. and was able to defeat the measure by a slim majority in a White House victory.
The resolution failed by a vote of 215 to 215, falling short of the majority needed to succeed. Only two Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., voted in favor of the package.
RAND PAUL DIFFERENT WITH TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA, CALLS ‘WAR’ TO ACTION AS SENATE PREPARES FOR CONSTITUTIONAL FIGHT
The White House issued a sharp rebuke of the law Thursday when asked by Fox News Digital. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Speaker Johnson continued the vote for more than 20 minutes, prompting Republicans to vote against the resolution. Finally one of the Republicans, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Tx., came into the chamber and broke the deadlock and killed the measure.
“Shut down the voting!” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) shouted as Republicans tried to solidify their opposition. “This is serious—!”
The bill was introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. and was supported by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
The resolution directs Trump to withdraw troops deployed to Venezuela and echoes a similar effort in the Senate aimed at restricting the administration from future military action in the country.
Administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, say there are currently no U.S. armed forces in Venezuela, although Trump has ordered a naval blockade of the country’s coast.
The White House issued a sharp rebuke of the law Thursday when asked by Fox News Digital.
“It is shameful that members of Congress want to usurp the commander in chief’s authority to take vital action to strengthen our national security and prevent drugs and criminals from entering our country,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he expected Republicans to act together to overturn the resolution.
STARTING WAR FORCES SENATE VOTES INCREASED PRESSURE ON HAWLEY AFTER MAGA’S REACTION
“I don’t think we’re going to take any breaks on this,” Johnson told Fox News Digital that morning.
“We are the last great superpower, and we need to give the president the authority to exercise what is his under the Constitution,” Johnson said, referring to Trump’s role as commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. he said. “I don’t think we need to get in the way of this.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to reporters as the House debates a continuing resolution to restore government funding on Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)
The McGovern-Massie decision comes after Trump earlier this month ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in what the administration framed as a narrow-scope law enforcement operation.
The White House claims that the US only arrested one alleged criminal. Maduro and his wife were indicted in a New York court for allegedly facilitating drug trafficking in the US
“The entire Trump administration coordinated the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, who heads a major drug-trafficking foreign terrorist organization and is a fugitive from American justice,” Kelly said.
Democrats like McGovern pushed back on the GOP’s portrayal, raising concerns that the United States could carry out more military operations in Venezuela.
But the decision by the bipartisan House duo Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. It was slightly different from the similar bill prepared by Trump, which also focused on Trump’s power in Venezuela.
The House’s version would require the Trump administration to withdraw all U.S. forces from the region, even as officials told lawmakers there were no boats in the country following surprise attacks and Maduro’s capture.
The chances of Massie and McGovern’s resolution surviving the Senate are made more difficult by the fact that lawmakers in the upper chamber have already eliminated pressure on Kaine to seek congressional authorization for any future military activity in the region.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: REPUBLICANS WANT OUT OF VENEZUELA WAR POWERS DEBATE AFTER VOTING RECENTLY
Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing on a helipad in Manhattan; He boards an armored vehicle, escorted by heavily armed federal agents, on his way to the federal courthouse in Manhattan in New York City on January 5, 2026. (XNY/Star Max/GC images via Getty Images)
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., switched their votes to rescind the decision after assurances and assurances from administration officials, especially Rubio, that there were no bots in the country.
Still, Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to explain the administration’s plan for the region. His emergence also comes at a time of uncertainty about Trump’s plans with Greenland.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Rubio had already teased the plan after multiple classified briefings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. For now, the administration is considering a three-pronged plan focused on stability, recovery and transition in the region.
