Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as President Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez Delemer testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol on February 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. February 19, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
The Senate voted 52-47 on Thursday to block further military action in Venezuela by President Donald Trump.
The move comes less than a week after President Trump authorized a strike to capture the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.
The bill, known as the War Powers Resolution, would only need to pass with a simple majority in the Republican-controlled Senate and would require President Trump to seek Congressional approval before using U.S. troops in Venezuela again. The bill was introduced by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The vote in the Senate was procedural, but indicates the bill has the votes to pass when it comes to a final vote in the Senate. It will then go to the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Late Thursday, President Trump slammed the five Republican senators who helped Democrats pass the bill.
“Republicans should be ashamed of the senators who just voted with Democrats to take away our authority to fight and defend the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Five Republican senators — Paul, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Todd Young of Indiana — “should never be elected to Congress again,” Trump wrote.
“I think that means he would prefer[Maine Democratic Gov. Janet]Mills or someone else he doesn’t have a very good relationship with,” Collins told reporters at the Capitol in response to Trump’s post.
“Make no mistake: Bombing another nation’s capital and eliminating its leader is an act of war, plain and simple. There is no provision in the Constitution that gives the office of the president such authority,” Paul said in a statement.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war.
President Trump and his allies say there was no need to consult Congress about the attack that captured President Maduro and that it was a law enforcement operation. Maduro is currently facing drug-related charges in New York.
The Senate rejected a similar resolution in November, but Paul and Murkowski were the only two Republicans to join all Democrats in voting for it. President Trump conducted a months-long military buildup around Venezuela before taking action to detain President Maduro.
“While I support the operation to seize President Nicolas Maduro, which was extraordinary in its precision and complexity, I do not support the addition of additional U.S. troops or long-term military involvement in Venezuela or Greenland without specific authorization from Congress,” Collins said in a statement after the vote.
—CNBC’s Justin Papp and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
