WASHINGTON – A bipartisan congressional effort to halt President Donald Trump from undertaking further military action in Venezuela was stymied on Jan. 14 after the White House and Republican leaders used a procedural maneuver to effectively kill the Senate resolution.
Several lawmakers who initially supported the measure – a rebuke of Trump's incursion into the Latin American country without congressional approval – switched their votes, following intense pressure from the highest levels of the federal government, including a statement from the president saying they should "never be elected to office again."
A legislative effort to stop the war powers resolution, which was sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and supported by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, prompted a tied vote on Jan. 14. Vice President JD Vance broke the deadlock.
Read more: In Trump rebuke, Senate advances measure to halt Venezuela hostilities
On Jan. 8, five Republican senators initially bucked the president by advancing the war powers measure. Along with Paul, they included Sens. Todd Young of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Hawley and Young ultimately flipped their votes, telling reporters in recent days that they were reassured by conversations with Trump administration officials.
