GOP senators join Democrats to stop Trump from policing Venezuela
President Donald Trump suffered a rare defeat from his own party on Thursday when a handful of Senate Republicans rebelled to curb his usage of military force in Venezuela. The...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump suffered a rare defeat from his own party on Thursday when a handful of Senate Republicans rebelled to curb his usage of military force in Venezuela. The attempt to reassert Congress’ war powers authority, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., survived despite broad support among most Senate Republicans, who argued that Trump’s use of the military in Venezuela was justified. Among the defectors were Sens. Rand Paul , R-Ky., who co-sponsored the resolution, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. But Thursday’s successful vote, which also handed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., a rare defeat on the floor, is just the first step before the resolution officially passes. The Senate will have to take another vote, this time with the 60-vote filibuster threshold, before it becomes official. TRUMP EMBRACES US INTERVENTION IN VENEZUELA, OPENS DOOR TO BROADER LATIN AMERICA PUSH Kaine’s resolution would effectively end any further military operations involving Venezuela without explicit congressional approval. It was one of many bids since Trump took office last year by the bipartisan group to claw back Congress’ authority in weighing in on military action. The outcome of the vote remained an open question, even just moments before the final gavel. The defectors were on the fence on whether to rein Trump in following a classified briefing with administration officials on Operation Absolute Resolve, the codename of the mission to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Their issues weren’t necessarily with the actual operation itself, but with what comes next. And more specifically, if there would be further military activity in the country. "We were told that there are currently no boots on the ground. Is it an option? What I heard was that everything is an option," Hawley said. KENNEDY SAYS MILITARY ACTION ON GREENLAND WOULD BE 'WEAPONS-GRADE STUPID' AS GOP RESISTS FORCE But top admini…