Sen. Tim Kaine will force a Senate vote next week on a bipartisan resolution to bar further U.S. military action against Venezuela without explicit congressional approval following President Trump's reported operation to capture Nicolás Maduro. The measure, if enacted, would require congressional authorization for any additional attacks or expanded operations. The vote will test Republican support after a similar Senate measure failed in November and a closely contested House effort in December. Senior GOP leaders say they expect briefings from the administration when lawmakers return.
Senate to Force Vote Next Week on War Powers Measure After Maduro Ouster
Sen. Tim Kaine said he will force a Senate vote next week on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would bar further U.S. military action against Venezuela without explicit congressional authorization, following President Donald Trump's reported operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Kaine, who has previously been unable to secure congressional limits on the administration's Latin America military operations, condemned the unilateral removal of Maduro as 'a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate' the Western Hemisphere.
'My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week,' Kaine said. 'We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape.'
Although the vote will occur after the operation, if enacted the measure would require President Trump to seek congressional approval before ordering additional attacks or expanded military operations in Venezuela.
Political Implications
The upcoming vote will be a key test of Republican support for the administration's aggressive approach. Previous efforts to restrict presidential action on Venezuela failed because of limited GOP backing; this latest operation may prompt some Republicans — already concerned about rising regional tensions — to rethink their positions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects 'further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy.' House Speaker Mike Johnson added that the administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers when they return to Washington.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), another sponsor of the war powers push, called the operation a 'brazen illegal escalation,' saying the administration risks plunging the hemisphere into chaos by acting without congressional approval or public buy-in.
Recent Votes
The Senate in November rejected a similar war powers resolution brought by Kaine, Schiff and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky; only two GOP senators — Paul and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — supported that measure. Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana were undecided but ultimately opposed it. A comparable resolution narrowly failed in the House in December.
With the forced vote next week, senators will again weigh their constitutional oversight role against the administration's stated security and counternarcotics rationale.
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