US Senate votes to block Trump from more military action in Venezuela

The US Senate voted 52–47 on Thursday to block President Donald Trump from taking more military action in Venezuela. The vote happened less than one week after Trump approved a military strike that captured Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. The Senate used a measure called a War Powers Resolution to do this.

The War Powers Resolution only needed a simple majority to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. The measure would force Trump to ask Congress for approval before using the US military again in Venezuela, as stated by CNBC. The resolution was introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Senate vote support

The Senate vote was procedural, not final, but it shows the measure has enough support to pass in a final vote. After the Senate vote, the measure is expected to go to the House of Representatives. Republicans hold only a razor-thin majority in the House. Later on Thursday, Trump strongly criticized Republicans who voted with Democrats.


“Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump named five Republican senators who supported the measure, as stated by CNBC. The five Republicans were Rand Paul, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Todd Young of Indiana.

These senators “should never be elected to office again,” Trump wrote. Senator Susan Collins responded to Trump’s post while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill. “I guess that means he would prefer to have [Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet] Mills or somebody else with whom he’s not had a great relationship,” Collins said. Senator Rand Paul said the strike against Venezuela was clearly an act of war. “Make no mistake, bombing another nation’s capital and removing their leader is an act of war plain and simple. No provision in the Constitution provides such power to the presidency,” Paul said.

Congress war powers

The US Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. Trump and his allies in Congress argued that he did not need Congress’s approval for the strike. They said the action that captured Maduro was a law-enforcement operation, not a war action, as stated by CNBC. Nicolás Maduro is now facing drug-related charges in New York. The Senate rejected a similar War Powers resolution in November.

In that November vote, only two Republicans, Paul and Murkowski, joined Democrats in supporting it. Before the operation that captured Maduro, Trump carried out a military buildup aroundaas“While I support the operation to seize Nicolas 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.

FAQs

Q1. Why did the US Senate block Trump’s military action in Venezuela?

The Senate said the president must get Congress approval before using U.S. military force in Venezuela.

Q2. What happens if the War Powers Resolution becomes law?

Trump would need permission from Congress before taking any new military action in Venezuela.