Vice President J.D. Vance cast a late-night tie-breaking vote Wednesday to defeat a war powers resolution that would have forced President Donald Trump to seek Congress’s approval before taking any further military action in Venezuela.
Senate War Powers Showdown Goes Down To Wire
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), sought to bar US forces from engaging “within or against” Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress, following Trump’s January 3 operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Senate floor drama came to a nail-biter finish. Backers could afford to lose only one vote after advancing the resolution 52-47 last week, when five Republicans joined Democrats to discharge it from the Foreign Relations Committee. By Wednesday, they had lost two in Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) of Indiana. The final tally deadlocked 50-50, allowing Vance to step in and sink the measure, 51-50.
GOP Reversals Show Trump’s Continued Sway
Hawley and Young’s reversal highlighted Trump’s grip on GOP lawmakers. After last week’s procedural vote, Trump blasted the five defectors on social media and followed up with heated phone calls urging them to change course, as per a separate Reuters report.
Young on Wednesday said assurances from senior officials persuaded him. “After numerous conversations with senior national security officials, I have received assurances that there are no American troops in Venezuela. I’ve also received a commitment that if President Trump were to determine American forces are needed in major military operations in Venezuela, the Administration will come to Congress in advance to ask for an authorization of force,” he wrote on social media.
Debate Pits Oversight Against Limited Mission Claims
He also released a letter dated Wednesday from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrote, “Should the President determine that he needs to introduce US Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operation in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorizations in advance (circumstances permitting).”
Supporters of the resolution argued that the continued US naval presence and threats of expanded operations made congressional oversight essential. Republicans leading the opposition countered that no US ground troops are currently in Venezuela and that January’s raid was “limited in scope and duration,” making the War Powers Resolution inapplicable.
Photo Courtesy: Phil Mistry on Shutterstock.com
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