Senate Republicans Reject Effort to Curb Trump’s Ability to Take Military Action in Venezuela

The Senate on Thursday rejected a War Powers Resolution meant to prevent President Donald Trump from taking military action in Venezuela, leaving Trump’s authority unchecked.

The resolution, led by Sens. Adam Schiff, Tim Kaine and Rand Paul, failed 49-51.

Republicans Paul and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in support. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman also voted for the resolution, despite opposing a similar one last month.

He told NOTUS that he wants the administration to justify to Congress any strikes inside Venezuela — but that he is “largely supportive of those strategic hits on the drug boat runners” in international waters.

The senators said it’s vital to assert Congress’ authority as the only entity that can declare war under Article 1 of the Constitution, particularly as Trump’s administration insists it can act alone in its “conflict” against drug cartels.

“We’re here with this resolution because we’re tired of abdication,” Kaine told reporters earlier in the day. “We’re tired of Congress abdicating this most solemn power to a president.”

It was the second failed effort in a month by Kaine and Schiff to limit Trump’s unilateral military powers. Their measure in October focused on the administration’s boat strikes in the Caribbean, but this latest push came amid growing concern that Trump may soon authorize an invasion of Venezuela, as U.S. warships and bombers gather near the country’s coast.

Kaine and Schiff told reporters ahead of the vote that they had reviewed the Trump administration’s classified legal opinion saying it did not need congressional authorization for the Caribbean and Pacific boat strikes. Both described the memo as dangerously broad and constitutionally hollow.

“If that opinion were to be adopted, it would not constrain any use of force anywhere in the world,” Schiff said. “It’s broad enough to authorize just about anything.”

In a classified Senate briefing Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that the U.S. currently lacks legal justification for strikes inside Venezuela, CNN reported. The Department of Justice’s legal opinion applies only to maritime operations, but they are exploring a separate, broader opinion that could authorize land strikes without congressional approval.

Kaine said the administration’s classified legal opinion argues that the president can use force if he believes it serves U.S. interests, citing both the Constitution and international law. He said those claims are unfounded because only Congress can authorize war.

“Anybody in Congress who thinks we ought to invade Venezuela to stop narco trafficking, to regime change, to grab their oil fields — let them introduce an AUMF and let’s have a debate and vote in Congress,” Kaine said.

The U.S. military has targeted at least 14 vessels since the beginning of the strikes in September, killing more than 60 people the Trump administration alleges are drug traffickers. Several U.S. officials have privately conceded that the operation also aims to weaken Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Both senators questioned the scope of the buildup of U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela, which now includes the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

“It just strains credulity to believe that you’re bringing in 15% of our naval forces because you’re concerned about small drug-running boats,” Schiff said. “It’s really an open secret that this is much more about potential regime change.”

Trump has publicly alternated between denying plans for an invasion and hinting that Maduro’s time is nearly up.

In a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he doubted the U.S. would go to war with Venezuela, then added, “They’ve been treating us very badly.” Asked about potential land strikes, he said, “I’m not saying it’s true or untrue.”

Democrats have complained about a lack of information provided on the strikes and Venezuela plans. Schiff added that the lack of all-member briefings on an ongoing campaign was “astounding.” The administration has held briefings with specific groups of lawmakers, but not a broader group, he said.

“Congress should be brought into this. If they’ve got a good case to make, they shouldn’t be afraid to make it,” Schiff said.

The failed vote on Thursday leaves Trump’s current operations intact. Kaine said he plans to bring forward new measures addressing not only Venezuela but potential unilateral actions elsewhere.

“Even if it fails, we’re coming back,” he said. “You have to force Congress to look in the mirror and confront the question: Are we going to exercise Article 1 power or abdicate it away?”

Some Republicans argue that the War Powers Act does not yet apply because U.S. forces are not in active combat. “There is no war in Venezuela,” Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota Told NOTUS after the vote. “The law that’s involved in this thing would only apply after there have been basically kinetic actions where our people are in harm’s way. That has, to the best of my knowledge, not occurred. And so the War Powers Act does not start until after you actually have kinetic action.”

Rounds said he has received briefings on U.S. operations in international waters but is “not aware of any kinetic activity going on within Venezuela itself.” He added that there is a classified Justice Department memo outlining the administration’s legal rationale and that he plans to review it.