President Donald Trump unleashed a public warning shot at five Republican senators Thursday after they joined Democrats to advance a war powers measure aimed at limiting his ability to order further military action in Venezuela.
The president escalated an intraparty fight over national security authority and congressional checks on the commander in chief.
The Senate voted 52-47 to advance the resolution, with Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Todd Young of Indiana crossing party lines alongside every Democrat.
One Republican did not vote.
The procedural step sets up debate and a vote on final passage next week, though the measure faces long odds in the Republican-led House and would need veto-proof support to overcome an expected Trump veto.
Veto-proof support means a bill has enough backing in Congress to become law even if the president vetoes it, because lawmakers can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
Posting on Truth Social after the vote, Trump singled out the five by name and urged their defeat at the ballot box.
"Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America," Trump wrote, adding that the five "should never be elected to office again."
The clash follows a dramatic U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas this past Saturday, an action that renewed debate on Capitol Hill over whether the administration is sliding toward a broader, open-ended campaign without explicit authorization from Congress.
Administration officials have described the Maduro seizure as a law enforcement operation, not a war-fighting mission.
Supporters of the resolution argue that Congress must reassert its constitutional role before the U.S. expands military operations.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a co-sponsor, said after the vote: "None of us should want this president, or any president, to take our sons and daughters to war without notice, consultation, debate, and a vote in Congress."
Opponents cast the resolution as political theater that undercuts presidential authority in a volatile standoff.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said before the vote: "The purpose of this resolution is to slap the president in the face."
"The debate really isn't about good or evil, bad or good. There's a lot of evil in the world.
"The question is about who has the power to take the country to war," Paul told reporters on Wednesday. "The Constitution was very clear, and it divides war into two aspects. One is the declaration or initiation of war, that power was given to Congress, and then the execution of the war, the making of the war, was left to the president."
Some Republicans who backed the procedural vote emphasized uncertainty about what comes next.
"We were told that there are currently no boots on the ground. Is it an option?
"What I heard was that everything is an option," Hawley said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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