US Senate advances war powers resolution to stop Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela | US Senate

The US Senate on Thursday introduced a bipartisan war powers resolution to block Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela after he ordered a weekend raid to capture the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, without prior notice to Congress.

The measure was passed with 52 senators in favor and 47 opposed. All Democrats voted for the resolution, along with Republicans Rand Paul, Todd Young, Lisa Murkowski, Josh Hawley and Susan Collins.

If the Senate approves the measure, it will need to pass the House and be signed by Trump to take effect.

The vote was a severe rebuke to the president, and Trump responded by saying that Republican senators who supported the resolution “should never be elected to office again.”

“This Vote greatly impedes American Self-Defense and National Security and impedes the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,” he wrote on Truth Social. Trump called the War Powers Resolution, the Vietnam war-era law that Congress passed to prevent presidents from waging unsanctioned wars, “unconstitutional.”

The resolution, introduced by Democratic senator Tim Kaine, would require Trump to get permission before attacking Venezuela or otherwise using the military. After the Saturday raid in which US special forces attacked the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and took Maduro to New York to face trial on “narco-terrorism”-related charges, the president said he did not tell lawmakers in advance because “Congress has a tendency to leak.”

This sparked outrage among Democrats and some Republicans, who argued that the raid was illegal and risked dragging the United States into a protracted conflict.

“Following the administration’s actions over the weekend that resulted in injuries to U.S. service members… Congress needs to tell the American public where it stands,” Kaine said in a speech on the Senate chamber Tuesday.

He added that the concern about U.S. intervention in Venezuela “has to do with an instinctive wisdom of the American people that says war should be a last resort and that war should not be entered into by one person’s decision.”

The resolution was the latest resolution proposed by the Democratic minority in Congress to stop Trump’s campaign against the Venezuelan government; This campaign intensified further in September when Trump approved airstrikes on boats off the coast that he claimed were carrying drugs.

At least 110 people died in those attacks, but experts disputed Trump’s claim that the ships were carrying fentanyl to US shores. The debate intensified further after it was revealed that the army chose to kill the two survivors of the attack rather than take them prisoner.

Previous war powers resolutions proposed in both chambers have failed — albeit narrowly — to garner enough support from the Republican majority to move forward. Many in the Republican party have praised Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, as well as Maduro’s comments, as an effective use of US power.

“The world is safer because Maduro is detained in the hands of the U.S. justice system,” Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday after U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio briefed members of both chambers.

Johnson added: “President Trump is a strong president who takes decisive action, and this sends an important message to other dangerous people, terrorists and tyrants around the world. I think this is an important role for America to play.”

Sens. Paul of Kentucky, one of the resolution’s sponsors, and Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans who consistently broke with their party and supported earlier war powers initiatives. Paul told reporters the other day that Congress should exercise its authority to wage war even if a military operation is successful or risk allowing the country to be “ruled by emergency.”

“The reason you oppose even seemingly good things on principle… is always not even for the current president, but for the next president,” he said.

Trump’s flank has rattled not only Collins, Murkowski and Paul (the few Republican senators known to challenge the president), but also Young and Hawley, who have rarely opposed him. After the vote, Hawley, who represents Missouri, said in a statement: “My view on the Constitution is that if the president feels the need to put boots on there in the future, Congress will have to vote on it.”

Young, the Indiana senator, stated that the decision restricts future military actions, not the raid that captured Maduro, which the senator praised.

“President Trump campaigned against endless wars, and I strongly support him in that position. A prolonged campaign involving the American military in Venezuela, even if unintentional, would be the exact opposite of President Trump’s goal of ending foreign turmoil,” he said.

“The Constitution first requires Congress to authorize operations involving American boots on the ground, and my vote today reaffirms Congress’ long-standing role.”

Asked by reporters at the Capitol about the president’s criticism, Young said he had “no concerns or comments.”

John Fetterman, the Democratic senator who represents the swing state of Pennsylvania, praised Saturday’s attack as “positive for Venezuela” but said he voted for the resolution “so we can continue this important debate in the Senate.”

Kaine said he expects lawmakers to introduce other war powers resolutions aimed at halting hostilities against Nigeria, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia — all countries Trump attacked or threatened to attack last year.

Shortly after the Senate vote, a group of House Democrats introduced a similar war powers resolution on Venezuela.

“Maduro was a terrible bully and a terrible person. No one here disputes that. But when it comes to endangering American soldiers, Congress is responsible, and I’m not saying that, it’s the constitution,” said Congressman and sponsor of the measure, Jim McGovern.