WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate was voting Thursday on a bill to check. President Donald Trump’s Democrats have pressed Congress to take a stronger role in President Trump’s high-stakes campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, reducing his ability to launch an attack on Venezuela.
Lawmakers, including top Republicans, have told the Trump administration, Detailed information about US military attacks against alleged drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean. But Thursday’s vote, which essentially forestalls an attack on Venezuelan soil by first requiring Congressional approval, was a key test of Republican senators’ willingness to allow the Trump administration’s policies to continue. increasing naval power In the area.
“We are tired of Congress relinquishing this most solemn power to the president,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, who introduced the resolution.
The bill has virtually no chance of becoming law, as it would require President Trump’s own signature, but it did allow senators to put their concerns on record about the president’s public threats against Venezuela. Under construction by the US Navy abnormally large forceincluding most of the advanced aircraft carrierin the Caribbean, many were led to the conclusion that Trump’s intentions were not just to sabotage ships carrying cocaine.
“It’s no secret that this is more about possible regime change,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who also sponsored the resolution. “If that’s the direction the administration is going, and we’re risking involvement in a war, we need to hear from Congress.”
Promoting Congressional Oversight
As the Trump administration resets America’s priorities overseas, there is a growing sense of frustration among lawmakers, including some Republicans, concerned about the Pentagon’s recent moves.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing earlier Thursday, Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman, said many senators had “serious concerns about the Department of Defense Policy Office” and that Congress had not been consulted about recent actions, including: Suspends security assistance to Ukrainereduce the number of US troops stationed in Romania and the formulation of a national defense strategy.
Republican senators are directing their anger at the Pentagon’s policy office, headed by Elbridge Colby, who has advocated for the U.S. to end its involvement in international alliances.
“It seems like a pigsty of chaos is coming out of the policy scene,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said at a separate military hearing earlier this week.
Amid growing backlash on Capitol Hill, the Trump administration has stepped up briefings on the campaign in the Caribbean, sending both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to the Capitol. Wednesday confidential briefing For Congressional Leaders on Ship Attacks. Officials detailed the information used to target the boats and allowed senators to consider the legal basis for the attack, but did not discuss whether to launch a direct attack against Venezuela, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.
Still, Democrats, joined by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, stoked Republican fears by forcing a vote on a possible attack on Venezuela under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which reaffirmed Congress’ authority to declare war.
Last month’s vote of the warring powers on attacking ships in international waters failed 48-51, but Mr. Kaine said he hoped to win over even more Republicans with a resolution that concerned only attacks on Venezuela.
Some Republicans are worried about the Caribbean campaign
Republican leaders pressed on Thursday to ensure the bill fails, with many Republican senators expressing support for the Trump campaign, which has killed at least 66 people. 16 known strikes.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, argued in a floor speech that the War Powers Act gives lawmakers too much power over military decisions and that Congress has other tools to check the president’s decisions.
“I like the idea that our commander-in-chief is saying to a narco-terrorist organization that not only are you a foreign terrorist organization, but if you engage in any threat against our country, we’re going to remove you on a ship loaded with drugs and bound for America,” Graham said.
But several senators were still weighing their votes. Hours before the vote, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she had carefully read the Trump administration’s confidential legal opinion on the strikes but had not reached a decision.
“It’s still a difficult decision,” she said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, said he would vote against the resolution, but added that he had doubts about the resolution. He noted that relocating aircraft carriers would cost a lot of money and questioned whether those funds could be better used at the U.S.-Mexico border to thwart fentanyl trafficking.
If the operation continues for several more months, Tillis said, “we need to have a serious discussion about whether we are engaging in some kind of hybrid warfare.”
Still, Democrats argued that the Trump administration was using flimsy legal defenses for large-scale military operations that put the U.S. military and the country’s reputation at risk. Sen. Jack Reed, the Senate’s top Democrat on military affairs, accused President Trump of engaging in “violence without a strategic purpose” while failing to actually take action to address fentanyl smuggling.
“You can’t get out of the drug crisis by dropping bombs,” he says.
But Kaine also acknowledged that there was some risk in forcing a vote, as it could give President Trump the tacit green light to launch an overt attack.
“Congress just has to stand up and decide whether it can be counted or not,” he said.
