Five Senate Republicans helped deliver a rare congressional setback for President Donald Trump on Thursday after voting with Democrats to advance a bipartisan measure that restricts further military operations against Venezuela without congressional approval.
The outcome marked a significant rebuke of Trump’s actions in the South American country after the United States captured and removed former dictator Nicolas Maduro from power.
The vote reflected the growing unease over the lack of congressional notification and how the administration plans to manage the transition, although Republicans were generally supportive of the operation itself.
After the measure advanced, clearing the way for passage as soon as next week, Trump posted on social media that those who broke rank “should never be elected to office again.”
“This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Here are the five GOP senators who voted with all Democrats.
1. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Paul is a co-author of the resolution with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). A libertarian, Paul has repeatedly supported efforts to limit Trump’s ability to conduct military strikes in the Caribbean Sea without the express approval of Congress.
Although he views the Maduro regime as a “disaster,” he said the case made by his other Republican colleagues, namely that Venezuelans will be better off free from a corrupt dictator, should be moot.
“The debate really isn’t about good or evil, bad or good,” Paul told reporters. “The question is about who has the power to take the country to war.”
2. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Collins, a centrist up for reelection in a battleground race, said the war powers language would maintain Trump’s Article II authority but reaffirm Congress’s powers, something she viewed as “necessary” because of Trump’s openness to a drawn-out U.S. presence in Venezuela.
“I believe invoking the War Powers Act at this moment is necessary, given the president’s comments about the possibility of ‘boots on the ground’ and a sustained engagement ‘running’ Venezuela, with which I do not agree,” Collins said in a statement.
3. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
A centrist who frequently aligns with Collins, Murkowski backed efforts last year to limit Trump’s actions against Venezuela.
“I took these votes because I believed the administration failed to provide Congress with the information necessary to fully evaluate the legal basis for these escalating actions,” she said in a recent statement. “That was true then, and it remains true today.”
4. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
Young, a Marine veteran, also cited concerns over continued U.S. involvement and the president’s claims that his administration now “runs” Venezuela.
“I — along with what I believe to be the vast majority of Hoosiers — am not prepared to commit American troops to that mission,” Young said in a statement. “Although I remain open to persuasion, any future commitment of U.S. forces in Venezuela must be subject to debate and authorization in Congress.”
SENATE ADVANCES VENEZUELA WAR POWERS RESOLUTION IN RARE REBUKE OF TRUMP
5. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Hawley votes mostly along party lines but maintains a conservative populist streak that sometimes puts him at odds with colleagues. He expressed reservations about U.S. troops being deployed to Venezuela without congressional approval.
“With regard to Venezuela, my read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it,” he posted to social media. “That’s why I voted yes on this morning’s Senate resolution.”