Senate votes to block Trump military action

The Senate on Thursday voted 52 to 47 to block President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela.

The move comes less than a week after Trump authorized an attack that captured the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Only a simple majority was needed to pass the measure, known as the War Powers Resolution. RepublicanThe deal, controlled by the Senate, would require Trump to get approval from Congress before using the US military in Venezuela again. The measure was introduced by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The vote in the Senate was procedural, but it shows the measure has the votes it needs to pass when it comes to a final vote in the Senate. It will then go to the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority.

Later Thursday, Trump opposed five Republicans who helped Democrats pass the measure.

“Republicans should be ashamed of Senators who vote with Democrats when they are trying to take away our powers to fight and defend the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump wrote that five of the GOP senators — Paul, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — “should never be elected to office again.”

Responding to Trump’s post, Collins told reporters on Capitol Hill: “I think that means Trump would prefer this. [Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet] Mills or someone else he doesn’t have a very good relationship with.”

“Make no mistake, bombing another country’s capital and deposing its leaders is a clear and unambiguous act of war. Nothing in the Constitution gives the presidency such authority,” Paul said in a statement. he said.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war.

Trump and his allies in Congress have argued that he did not need to consult Congress about the attack that captured Maduro and that it was a law enforcement operation. Maduro is currently facing drug-related charges in New York.

The Senate rejected a similar resolution in November after only two Republicans – Paul and Murkowski – joined all Democrats in voting. Before the action that captured Maduro, Trump had carried out a military build-up around Venezuela that would last for months.

“While I support the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro, which is extraordinary in its precision and complexity, I do not support sending additional U.S. forces or engaging in any long-term military intervention in Venezuela or Greenland without specific authorization from Congress,” Collins said in a statement after the vote.

— CNBC’s Justin Papp And Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.