Republicans rebel against Trump’s military strikes in stinging rebuke after triumphant Maduro capture

Senators have today voted to approve a move to potentially subdue President Donald Trump’s capabilities to execute further military actions in Venezuela without the approval of Congress.

The latest vote on a war powers resolution, which was pushed by a bipartisan duo, Virginia Democrat Senator Tim Kaine and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, came after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US Special forces this past Saturday.

The move passed 52 to 47, thanks to the backing of Republicans, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Todd Young of Indiana, as well as Senator Paul. 

This alone won’t prevent Trump from taking further military action without Congressional consent – it only promises to put a vote to limit the President’s power on the calendar at a later date. The measure still faces another vote for final passage in the Senate.

Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump on Thursday of being ready for an ‘endless war’ and called upon his Republican colleagues to vote to stop the President’s actions.

Prior to the Senate vote, Kaine noted that his war powers push was ‘not an attack on the [Maduro] arrest warrant, but it is merely a statement that going forward, US troops should not be used in hostilities in Venezuela without a vote of Congress, as the Constitution requires.’

Operation Absolute Resolve, the US raid that captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3, was billed by the Trump administration predominantly as a law enforcement operation, not a military one.

Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat who was very vocal in his support of Trump’s actions in taking out Maduro, notably voted in favor of the war powers resolution. 

Kaine also stated Thursday that no one ‘has ever regretted a vote that just says, “Mr President, before you send our sons and daughters to war, come to Congress.”‘

‘That is a vote that no one has ever regretted and no one will ever regret,’ Kaine concluded.

War powers resolutions were also introduced last year in both the House and Senate to prevent the Trump Administration from declaring war on Venezuela without congressional approval after the strikes on Venezuelan drug boats.

In the Senate, a war powers resolution spurred by Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego would set a 60-day deadline for Congress to formally approve the use of military forces after the administration notifies lawmakers of a conflict.

Trump issued that notification about Venezuela in early October, meaning the deadline has already expired.

In the House, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Democrats Jim McGovern and Joaquin Castro, as well as Republican Thomas Massie, argued last year that the administration has neither sought authorization for the use of military force against Venezuela nor offered a credible justification for the unauthorized strikes it has conducted against vessels in the region.

The government has also failed to publicly explain why the boats could not have been stopped and investigated, or why those on board could not have been apprehended and prosecuted instead of being targeted and killed without due process.

Massie notably introduced a war powers resolution against Trump after his strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, but later withdrew it after Speaker Mike Johnson described his measure as a moot point following a ceasefire in the region.