Second War Powers Resolution Vote To Block U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela Fails
The United States Senate voted against a War Powers Resolution on Thursday that would have required President Donald Trump to seek Congressional approval for continuing military action against Venezuela, a month after a previous vote also failed.
Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) co-sponsored the bill, which was defeated with 49 votes in favor and 51 against, largely along party lines. The only other Republican senator to vote in favor of the bill was Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
The bill sought to block the use of the U.S. military for “hostilities within or against Venezuela” without Congressional approval, expanding on the October 8 vote that sought to block U.S. strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the southern Caribbean Sea.
“Maduro is a murderous dictator. He is an illegitimate leader having overturned the last election by use of military force. He is a bad actor,” said Schiff in a speech before the vote. “But I do not believe the American people want to go to war to topple his regime, in the hopes that something better might follow. If the administration feels differently, let them come to the Congress and make the case. Let them come before the American people and make the case. Let them seek an authorization to use force to get rid of Maduro.”
Since September, the Trump administration has claimed it conducted 17 strikes on 18 boats allegedly smuggling drugs, with 10 sunk in the Caribbean Sea and 8 boats sunk in the Pacific Ocean, killing at least 69 people. President Trump has also threatened military action into Venezuela against what he says are land drug trafficking routes, with the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group ordered to redeploy to the Caribbean Sea on October 24.
“The Trump Administration confirmed to some members of Congress yesterday that it lacks the legal authority to launch strikes into Venezuela. But instead of voting to pass our bipartisan war powers resolution to reaffirm this principle, many of my colleagues chose to ignore their solemn constitutional responsibility and hide in the tall grass,” said Kaine in a statement following the vote’s failure. “My colleagues’ unwillingness to debate an issue as important as this one – as well as Congress’ increasing abdication to the Executive Branch on so many other matters – is putting us on a dangerous path.”