{"id":45978,"date":"2026-01-09T12:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45978"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:11:18","slug":"gop-senators-break-ranks-with-trump-to-help-advance-venezuela-war-powers-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/gop-senators-break-ranks-with-trump-to-help-advance-venezuela-war-powers-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Senators Break Ranks With Trump to Help Advance Venezuela War Powers Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Tim<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) speaks while flanked with two of the three co-sponsors of a Venezuela war powers resolution\u2014Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)\u2014on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 8, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (Photo by Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith this historic, bipartisan vote to prevent further war in Venezuela, Congress has begun the long-overdue work of reasserting its constitutional role in decisions of war and peace,\u201d said one observer.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan 08, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid President Donald Trump\u2019s admission that his intervention in Venezuela<\/a> could last years, US senators voted Thursday to advance legislation<\/a> aimed at blocking the president\u2019s use of military forces against the oil-rich South American nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senators voted 52-47 to advance a war powers resolution introduced<\/a> last month by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) \u201cto block the use of the US armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress\u201d as required by the 1973 War Powers Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Win<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Absolute Dereliction of Duty\u2019: House Republicans Kill Venezuela War Powers Resolutions<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"President<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Actions of a Rogue State\u2019: US Lawmakers Demand Emergency Vote to Stop Trump War on Venezuela<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Senate will now continue debating the measure, which, if passed by both the upper chamber and the House of Representatives, would be subject to a likely veto by Trump\u2014who has sunk two previous war powers resolutions unrelated to Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to Paul, four other GOP<\/a> senators voted to advance the resolution: Susan Collins<\/a> of Maine<\/a>, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Todd Young of Indiana. While lawmakers often assent during the procedural phase, only to cast ballots against legislation during final votes, at least one of the GOP senators signaled they will vote the same as they did Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile I support the operation to seize [Venezuelan President] Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, which was extraordinary in its precision and complexity, I do not support committing additional US forces or entering into any long-term military involvement in Venezuela or Greenland<\/a> without specific congressional authorization,\u201d Collins said in a statement<\/a>, referring to Trump\u2019s threats to acquire the Danish territory by force if he deems it necessary. Sen. Ruben Gallego<\/a> (D-Ariz.) this week introduced a bill<\/a> that would ban the president from any such action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe invoking the War Powers Act at this moment is necessary, given the president\u2019s comments about the possibility of \u2018boots on the ground\u2019 and a sustained engagement \u2018running\u2019 Venezuela, with which I do not agree,\u201d added Collins, who is facing a serious challenge for her Senate seat from candidates including former Maine Gov. Janet Mills and progressive Graham Platner, both Democrats who oppose<\/a> US military<\/a> action in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time of bipartisan war powers resolution\u2019s introduction last month, Trump had not yet attacked Venezuelan territory, although he had threatened<\/a> to do so, deployed warships<\/a> and thousands of US troops to the region, authorized covert CIA action<\/a> to topple Maduro, and ordered the bombing of boats<\/a> the administration claimed\u2014without evidence\u2014were smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Trump dramatically escalated US intervention in Venezuela, first with a December drone strike<\/a> on a port facility and then by bombing and invading the country and abducting Maduro<\/a> and his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked during a Wednesday interview with the New York Times<\/a><\/em> whether the US intervention in Venezuela would last a year, or longer, Trump replied<\/a>, \u201cI would say much longer,\u201d explaining that \u201cwe will rebuild\u201d the country \u201cin a very profitable way,\u201d including by \u201ctaking oil<\/a>\u201d from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specter of yet another US \u201cforever war\u201d like the ongoing open-ended War on Terror<\/a> that\u2019s left nearly 1 million people dead in at least seven countries since 2001 has prompted the introduction of several congressional war powers resolutions. So far, none have passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf there was ever a moment for the Senate to find its voice, it is now,\u201d Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of Thursday\u2019s vote. \u201cToday, the Senate must assert the authority given to it on matters of war and peace. We must send Donald Trump<\/a> a clear message on behalf of the American people: No more endless wars. Donald Trump\u2019s ready for an endless war in Venezuela, and lord knows where else. The American people are not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaine made it clear during his pre-vote Senate floor remarks that the resolution does not challenge the \u201cexecution of a valid arrest warrant against Nicol\u00e1s Maduro,\u201d which\u2014despite experts concurring that the invasion and abduction were illegal\u2014he called \u201cgood for America and good for Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Kaine said, given that Trump\u2019s intervention \u201cwill go on for a long period of time,\u201d US troops \u201cshould not be used for hostilities in Venezuela without a vote of Congress as the Constitution requires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one has ever regretted a vote that just says, Mr. President, before you send our sons and daughters to war, come to Congress,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, such votes have very rarely succeeded in stopping any president from proceeding with military action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 during Trump\u2019s first term, the House and Senate both passed<\/a> a war powers resolution introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-Vt.) to cut off US military support for the Saudi-led coalition\u2019s atrocity-laden<\/a> war on Yemen<\/a>. Trump vetoed<\/a> the measure, and senators lacked the two-thirds majority needed to override his move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following year, both houses of Congress passed another war powers resolution\u2014this one introduced in the Senate by Kaine\u2014<\/a>to terminate military action against Iran. But Trump again vetoed<\/a> the legislation, and the Senate could not muster the two-thirds majority required for an override. After returning to office last year, Trump ordered sweeping attacks<\/a> on Iran\u2014and is threatening<\/a> to do so again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump took to his Truth Social network to blast<\/a> the five Republican senators who voted to advance the war powers resolution on Thursday and Vice President JD Vance<\/a> called<\/a> the War Powers Act \u201cfundamentally a fake and unconstitutional law,\u201d progressive and anti-war advocacy groups hailed the advancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith this historic, bipartisan vote to prevent further war in Venezuela, Congress has begun the long-overdue work of reasserting its constitutional role in decisions of war and peace,\u201d Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe commend the leadership of Sens. Kaine and Paul in forcing this vote, and we thank Sens. Collins, Young, Hawley, and Murkowski for their principled votes,\u201d Kharrazian continued. \u201cSenators should move quickly to adopt the resolution to prevent further unauthorized military escalation and the House should follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongress should also make clear, using the full force of the law, that no president has the authority to unilaterally launch hostilities anywhere in the world,\u201d he added, \u201cwhether in Venezuela or against other countries the administration has openly threatened<\/a>, including Cuba<\/a>, Greenland, Colombia, and Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jose Vasquez, executive director of Common Defense and an Army veteran, said, \u201cThe vote is a victory for the Constitution, the stability of the region, and for the veterans<\/a> and military families who organized, spoke out, and refused to accept another reckless slide toward forever war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy drawing this vote, Congress sends an essential message that accountability still matters and that no one person or presidential administration can send Americans to war,\u201d he added. \u201cVeterans will remain organized and vigilant, but today shows what is possible when Congress listens to the will of the people and leans toward peace rather than war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) speaks while flanked with two of the three co-sponsors of a Venezuela war powers resolution\u2014Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)\u2014on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 8, 2025.  (Photo by Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images) \u201cWith this historic, bipartisan… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45978"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45980,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45978\/revisions\/45980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}