The vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday to advance a resolution blocking military action in Venezuela will not actually force Donald Trump’s hand, because Trump would have to sign it into law, and obviously, he’s not going to do that.
But …
Consider it, message sent.
“This war is clearly illegal, because it was launched without the debate and vote by Congress the Constitution requires. With today’s vote – after months of congressional leadership refusing to hold a single public hearing about this war – the Senate sends a clear message: we will not accept that. Now, the Senate moves closer to actually debating the merits of military action in Venezuela in full view of the American public. Every senator needs to go on the record,” said U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a lead sponsor of the bipartisan War Powers Resolution, which advanced a key legislative hurdle by a 52-47 vote.
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Assuming the resolution passes, it would go to the House for consideration.
The stumbling block would be Trump, who is not going to sign into law a restriction on his ability to meddle in the internal affairs of another country.
The vote got his attention, for sure.
“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. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Of those five, only Collins, in Maine, is up for re-election in the 2026 cycle.
In other words, not much of a threat there from Trump.
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Chris Graham
