Senate war powers vote on Venezuela appears in jeopardy as Trump pressures Republicans
Washington — A Senate war powers resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s ability to further strike Venezuela appears to be in jeopardy as the White House pressures a handful of Republican senators who supported it.
Republicans could use a procedural maneuver to block the measure, arguing that the resolution should no longer be “privileged” — which gives it priority on the ground — because the United States is not currently engaged in “hostilities” with Venezuela.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, made the argument during his remarks Wednesday morning.
“Today we await a vote on a resolution ordering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities in or against Venezuela, even though the United States is not currently engaged in hostilities in or against Venezuela,” Thune said. “We do not have troops on the ground in Venezuela. We are not currently conducting military operations there.”
Senators advance A resolution by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia last week, after the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and Mr Trump, affirmed that the US was now in charge of the country.
Five Republicans joined all Democrats in supporting the measure, pushing it forward after two previous failed attempts in the upper house to advance similar resolutions aimed at curbing Mr. Trump’s military action in the region.
Republican senators who voted with Democrats to advance the measure were Todd Young of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Mr. Trump quickly attacked to Republicans, saying they “should never be elected again.” He criticized the senators again Tuesday during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, calling them “real losers.”
Some senators said they received calls from Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio before Wednesday’s planned action.
“I’m not talking about the final pass,” Young told reporters Tuesday. “I’m certainly happy that the president and his team called me, but I thought it was important to vote for the resolution, at least procedurally.”
Kaine said Wednesday morning that he expected all five to stay on the Democratic side, but Hawley said he would vote with GOP leaders to kill that effort. Hawley said Rubio addressed his concerns about U.S. troops in Venezuela.
Hawley said Rubio confirmed that the United States “does not have ground troops currently in Venezuela” and that if the administration considered sending troops to Venezuela, “they would follow the War Powers Act and go to Congress for congressional authorization.”
“The secretary told me directly that the administration would not deploy ground troops to Venezuela,” Hawley said.
Before Maduro’s ouster, lawmakers said they had not received sufficient answers from the Trump administration about whether its end goals in Venezuela included regime change as a goal. The United States steps up its strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats, imposed an oil blockade and Mr. Trump threatened to launch ground strikes.
Republicans who voted last week in favor of the resolution cited Mr. Trump’s comments on the handling of Venezuela and the possibility of a deployment of American forces there to justify support for the measure.
A day after the Senate’s initial vote, Mr. Trump announced that he had called off a “second wave” of attacks on Venezuela, saying the two countries “work well together.” But, he added, U.S. naval forces in the region “would remain in place for safety and security reasons.”
Kaine attributed Mr. Trump’s decision to call off more strikes to the vote of the war powers. CBS News has not received a response from the White House to Kaine’s assertion.
