WASHINGTON (AP) —The Senate has advanced a resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for the president’s expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.
Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote tally and ensure a later vote for final passage. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the resolution.
It has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it were to pass the House, but it’s still a significant gesture that shows unease among some Republicans after the U.S. military seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.
Two Republicans flip on Venezuela war powers resolution vote
The Senate is voting on a resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, and the vote tally is looking to be razor-thin.
Two Republicans who previously voted against similar resolutions — Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Susan Collins of Maine — are now voting for the resolution. It’s still not clear what the final vote outcome would be.
A majority vote would set up a later vote on passage for the resolution. It still has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it, but the vote outcome showed how some Republicans are uneasy with the Trump administration’s military action against Venezuela.
Some Republicans insist on congressional approval for war
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, said on Air Force One on Sunday that he’s comfortable with Trump taking over other countries — including Greenland — without congressional approval. “The commander in chief is the commander in chief. They can use military force,” Graham said.
But some others are voicing opposition. Asked whether he’d support putting troops on the ground in Venezuela, Thom Tillis of North Carolina responded: “Not without congressional authorization.”
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, an outspoken proponent of war powers resolutions, acknowledged that Maduro is seen as a “bad guy” and “a socialist and an autocrat.” But, Paul added, “The question is about who has the power to take the country to war?”
Paul said Republicans discussed Trump’s plans for Greenland at their Wednesday luncheon and he heard “zero support” for taking military action to seize it.
Sen. Tim Kaine: ‘It’s time for Congress to assert its control over military action of this kind’
“It’s time to get this out of secrecy and put it in the light,” the Virginia Democrat said after forcing a Thursday Senate vote on a resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to strike Venezuela militarily again.
Kaine said a resolution on Greenland would soon be filed, in addition to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Nigeria.
Republican leaders have said they had no advance notification of the raid early morning Saturday to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, but they’ve backed Trump, and mostly expressed satisfaction this week as top administration officials provided classified briefings on the operation.
“I think the president has demonstrated at least already a very strong commitment to peace through strength, especially in this hemisphere,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “I think Venezuela got that message loudly and clearly.”