Five Republican senators joined Democrats to defy President Donald Trump, voting to advance a war powers resolution to rein in military action in Venezuela.
The war powers resolution advanced in a 52-47 vote on Thursday, with Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana joining 47 Democrats.
‘I oppose socialism everywhere but that’s not today’s debate.’
If passed, the resolution would limit Trump’s authority to enact military intervention in Venezuela without congressional approval.
Although the resolution is likely to pass the Senate, the House rejected a similar war powers resolution in December. Notably this resolution was blocked before Trump ordered the military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.
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Paul and Hawley justified their votes from a constitutional perspective, arguing that war powers belong to Congress and not the president.
“I oppose socialism everywhere but that’s not today’s debate,” Paul said in a post on X. “The question is simple: Does the Constitution allow one person to take us to war without Congress? The answer is no. War powers belong to the people’s representatives. Full stop.”
“With regard to Venezuela, 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 said in a post on X. “That’s why I voted yes on this morning’s Senate resolution.”
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Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MoveOn
In contrast, Collins supported the war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority because she disagreed with his vision for a post-Maduro Venezuela.
“I believe invoking the war powers act at this moment is necessary, given the president’s comments about the possibility of ‘boots on the ground’ and a sustained engagement ‘running’ Venezuela, with which I do not agree,” Collins said.
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