Senate Democrats are attempting to push back against President Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive use of the U.S. military, and some Republicans are joining the effort to rein in the president. Together, these lawmakers have pushed forward a bill to restrict Trump’s ability to invade Venezuela again, even as he threatens other countries as well, all without notifying Congress in advance.
Senate moves on bill to limit Trump’s power to invade Venezuela again
The Senate voted Thursday to advance legislation to prevent the president from again using force “within or against Venezuela” without explicit approval of Congress. The move comes days after Trump launched a military intervention to remove and arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and then declared that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela. The 53-47 vote moves the legislation to the Senate floor for debate and a final vote on passing the legislation. The measure was co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Adam Schiff of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. All Democrats supported the measure, including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has taken more right-leaning stances in recent years and had previously indicated opposition to the bill.
Surprise Republican support for limiting Trump’s military power
Five Republicans supported the bill, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a longtime opponent of U.S. military interventions and expanded presidential power who co-sponsored it. Joining him were moderate Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who’ve broken with Republicans in the past. More surprising were the ‘yea’ votes from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a Trump ally who complained that members of the administration “don’t know what’s going to happen to Venezuela” or whether additional military intervention will be required, and Indiana Sen. Todd Young, a Marine veteran who said that “a drawn-out campaign in Venezuela involving the American military, even if unintended, would be the opposite of President Trump’s goal of ending foreign entanglements.” Although Thursday’s vote only covered military intervention into Venezuela, it comes as Trump has threatened or hinted at intervention into several other countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Greenland.
Bill faces hurdles as Trump lashes out at senators
Even if the Venezuela resolution passes the Senate, it would likely face significant opposition from Republicans in the House of Representatives. Trump would also likely veto the bill if it managed to clear both chambers of Congress. The president has already reacted angrily to the Senate vote, posting on social media, “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.” Trump called out the five Republicans supporting the bill by name, posting, “Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again.” Trump also declared the War Powers Act, a 1973 law designed to place specific limits on the ability of presidents to use military force without Congressional approval, “Unconstitutional.”
Despite the bill having little chance of becoming law, it signals growing concern over Trump’s use of military force. With the president signaling that he may be preparing to launch attacks against even more countries for nebulous reasons, Thursday’s vote is an indication that even members of his party might stand in the way of Trump having unlimited power to wage war around the world.