- Senators vote 52 to 47 to advance war powers resolution.
- Republicans blocked last resolution by just two votes.
- Maduro’s capture led to fears of prolonged Venezuela campaign.
WASHINGTON: The US Senate advanced a resolution on Thursday that would bar President Donald Trump from further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization, a rare rebuke of the Republican leader.
The vote on a procedural measure to advance the war powers resolution was 52 to 47, as five of Trump’s Republicans voted with every Democrat in favour of moving ahead. One Republican senator did not vote.
The vote took place days after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic military raid in Caracas on Saturday. The rebuke for Trump, a day after senior cabinet members briefed every member of Congress about its Venezuela policy, marked a shift in the 100-member Senate.
It was a significant victory for lawmakers who have been arguing that Congress, not the president, should have the power to send troops to war, as spelled out in the Constitution.
However, the resolution faces steep hurdles before going into effect.
Even if it passes the Senate, the resolution must also pass the Republican-led House of Representatives and garner two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate to survive an expected Trump veto.
Trump’s Republicans had blocked two previous attempts to advance similar resolutions in the Senate last year, as the administration ramped up military pressure on Venezuela with attacks on boats in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
However, the vote blocking the last resolution in November was only 51-49, just after top Trump advisors told lawmakers they did not plan to change the government or conduct strikes on Venezuelan territory.
After Maduro’s capture, some lawmakers accused the administration of misleading Congress, including Democrats publicly and some Republicans behind the scenes. Maduro’s capture and Trump’s rhetoric have also raised concerns of military action to capture Greenland, an Arctic island that is a territory of Denmark, or against Colombia, Cuba or Iran.
Thursday’s vote paved the way for Senate debate and a vote on final passage in the Senate next week.
Republican misgivings
Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who co-sponsored the resolution, had said some of his fellow Republicans were considering supporting the measure.
“I can’t guarantee you how they vote, but at least two are thinking about it, and some of them are talking publicly about their misgivings over this,” Paul told a press conference on Wednesday with Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, another co-sponsor.
Both senators are members of the Foreign Relations Committee.
After the vote, Kaine said it was a “big victory,” telling reporters: “None of us should want this president, or any president, to take our sons and daughters to war without notice, consultation, debate and vote in Congress.”
The five Republicans who voted to move ahead were Paul, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana. Trump’s party holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
Trump said the five “should never be elected to office again.” He said on his Truth Social website: “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.”
‘Endless war’
Backers acknowledge the hurdles facing the measure, but said many Republicans may be wary of a prolonged and expensive campaign of government change in Venezuela, as the U.S. faces vast budget deficits.
Trump on Wednesday called for a huge increase in US military spending, to $1.5 trillion from $1 trillion.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York noted months of US strikes on Venezuelan boats, and Trump’s statement in a New York Times interview that the US would be involved in Venezuela for more than a year.
“The president is openly signaling a long-term military and financial commitment abroad with no authorisation, with no plan, another endless war,” Schumer told a press conference.
Senators who opposed the resolution said Maduro’s seizure was a law enforcement operation, not a military action. Maduro faces trial in a US court on drug and gun charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Opponents also said Trump is within his rights as commander-in-chief to launch limited military actions.
“The purpose of this resolution is to slap the president in the face. It will do nothing that it purports to do because it can’t stop something that isn’t going on right now,” Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, the Republican foreign relations chairman, said in a Senate speech before the vote.
