Senate Republicans block Venezuela war powers resolution

Republicans in the Senate have blocked a war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to secure authorization from Congress before launching any further military operations in Venezuela.

The resolution’s defeat came less than a week after five Republicans broke ranks with their party and joined Democrats on a procedural vote to advance the measure — a rare rebuke for President Trump from within the GOP. The initial vote was an immediate response to the surprise operation earlier this month that led to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Those votes drew a furious response from President Trump, who called for the Republican defectors to lose their seats in Congress.

By Wednesday, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was able to flip two of those five Republican votes against the measure. The final vote was 51 to 50, with Vice President JD Vance brought in to break a tie.

The resolution was blocked with the support of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Todd Young, R-Ind., two of the five Republicans who had sided earlier with Democrats. Speaking to reporters, Hawley said his concerns about U.S. intervention in Venezuela had been alleviated by speaking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. For his part, Young said he changed his mind after receiving assurances from senior national security officials “that there are no American troops in Venezuela.”

“I’ve also received a commitment that if President Trump were to determine American forces are needed in major military operations in Venezuela, the Administration will come to Congress in advance to ask for an authorization of force,” Young said in a statement.

The positions of the three other Republicans who sided with Democrats on last week’s vote — Maine’s Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky — went unchanged.

“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 after last week’s vote.

The vote was the latest setback in efforts by Senate lawmakers to reassert control over the use of military force. A pair of similar measures were also defeated last year. But as President Trump continues to raise the prospect of military force in other parts of the world, including Iran and Greenland, Senate Democrats have signaled they intend to continue forcing additional war powers votes.