The Senate voted Thursday to advance a bill barring further attacks on Venezuela without the approval of Congress, a major political black eye for President Trump just days after the audacious raid that captured President Nicolas Maduro for trial in the U.S.
Five Republicans joined all Democrats in backing the measure by a 52-47 vote, setting up a final vote next week. The move is a sign of widening GOP divisions over Trump’s aggressive push to sideline lawmakers on a wide range of issues, especially using the military overseas under murky circumstances.
“It isn’t always just about the immediate president. It’s about who the next president is and the next president,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), one of the GOP rebels. “And that, If you can accuse someone of a crime anywhere in the world and then remove them without a vote of Congress, what it might lead to.”
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri also backed the measure to rein in Trump’s power.
“My read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it,” Hawley tweeted.
Trump quickly lashed out at the GOP lawmakers, calling the move “stupidity” and suggesting that he believes the War Powers Act itself is unconstitutional.
“(They) should never be elected to office again,” Trump declared on his social media site. If he is serious about not endorsing Collins, it could have a significant impact on her ability to win reelection in the forthcoming midterm elections.
Despite Trump’s outburst, the bill is highly unlikely to ever become law, even though war powers resolutions can pass the Senate on a simple majority vote and do not require the normal 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
If the Senate approves it as now seems likely, it would face an uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where House Speaker Mike Johnson would almost certainly seek to prevent it from receiving a vote on the floor.
Still, the vote demonstrates the uneasiness felt by some Republicans, including some of Trump’s MAGA loyalists, about the dangers of getting entangled in a military conflict in Venezuela.
Avoiding so-called “forever wars” was a key plank in Trump’s successful 2024 reelection and his base of support includes many conservatives who believe in an isolationist foreign policy.
On a few international issues, Trump has discarded that credo, including in Venezuela, which he says the U.S. will “run” indefinitely, without spelling out what that means or if it could involve a U.S. military commitment.
He has also rattled allies and foes alike by refusing to rule out military action to seize Greenland, an overseas territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Trump previously said the U.S. would “take over” the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and rebuild it as a luxe Middle Eastern “riviera,” although he apparently has dropped that controversial idea.
