U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance broke a Senate tie vote to block passage of a war powers resolution that would have prevented President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization.
Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday night to stop debate about the Vietnam War era Statutes This gives Congress oversight over the president’s foreign operations.
Senators Todd Young of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri reversed their previous votes to advance the resolution, splitting support 50-50 – and handing a victory to Trump, who had sharply criticized Republican senators who had previously quit the administration.
Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted to keep the effort alive in the Senate. Paul is the bill’s only Republican co-sponsor. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia was the lead Democratic co-sponsor.
Young said that while he “strongly” believes Congress must be involved in any decisions about the deployment of U.S. troops, administration officials assured him that this is not the state of affairs in Venezuela.
“After numerous discussions with senior national security officials, I have received assurances that there are no American troops in Venezuela. I have also received assurances that if President Trump decides that American forces are needed for major military operations in Venezuela, the administration will come to Congress in advance and seek authorization for use of force,” Young said in a written statement after casting his vote.
Rare reprimands do not last
The vote came less than a week after Young and Hawley were among five Senate Republicans who broke party ranks to push the resolution over an initial procedural hurdle – a sporadic rebuke of Trump by some in his own party.
Trump targeted the five Republican senators after their vote, writing on his Truth Social platform that the representatives “should never be elected to office again.”
Senate Republicans argued that a resolution to curb Trump’s military actions against Venezuela was not relevant because “there are no troops there and there is nothing to stop,” as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch said ahead of the vote.
“I know some of my colleagues will argue that a vote for this resolution is a prospective statement about limiting future action in Venezuela. That’s not what it says. They argue, ‘We still have ships in the Caribbean, and the president is clearly ready to invade again,’ they say. But that’s not in the resolution either. … This resolution is not about future action,” said Risch, R-Idaho, who proposed the measure.
The vote came 11 days after U.S. special forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in their bedroom in a surprise night raid. The couple was wanted by U.S. authorities on federal drug and conspiracy charges.
The vote also comes after a months-long bombing of diminutive boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific in which U.S. strikes killed more than 115 suspected “narcoterrorists,” according to the U.S. Southern Command.
An hour before senators voted to block any further development of the war powers resolution, Trump posted on social media that he had “a very good conversation” with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday morning.
“We are making tremendous progress as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover. Many issues were discussed, including oil, minerals, trade and of course national security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be spectacular FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more than ever!” Trump wrote on his own platform Truth Social.
Trump hosted oil executives at the White House on Friday for a meeting about possible investments in Venezuela’s oil industry. Before the meeting, the president announced that the South American country had already agreed to supply the United States between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. Trump said he would control the proceeds from the sale.
“We are very committed”
Paul and the Democratic supporters of the war powers resolution vehemently contradicted the Republican Party’s statements about the US presence in and around Venezuela.
“You don’t have to be a great expert in military affairs to know that we are deeply committed,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said before the vote.
“Donald Trump says we are not engaged in hostilities? Tell that to the 16,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in the Caribbean. Tell that to our soldiers in the Ford Carrier Task Force. Look at the Marine Expeditionary Unit operating in the region,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump is turning the Caribbean into a dangerous powder keg – and Congress must rein him in before one mistake sparks a larger, more unstable conflict.”
Kaine compared the Republicans’ procedural move to “a parliamentary requirement of silence when discussing this military operation.”
“If this cause and this legal basis were so fair and lawful, the administration and its supporters would not be so afraid to have this debate before the public and in the United States Senate,” Kaine said before the floor vote.
Paul said the government’s claim that Venezuela is not an official war is “an absurdity.”
“Invading another country, blockading one country and deposing the leader of another country is, in my opinion, clearly war,” Paul told the floor before the vote.
The U.S. Southern Command declined Wednesday to confirm the exact number of troops and warships stationed in the region.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said more than 100 people were killed in the raid, numerous media outlets reported video his statement. The Cuban government announced on Facebook 32 of its citizens were among the dead.
According to the Pentagon, seven US soldiers were injured in the attack. Five returned to work within days of the attack, while two were still recovering as of January 8. Pentagon officials declined to comment further on their conditions Wednesday.
