Five Republicans Break Ranks With Trump On Venezuela

The Senate narrowly advanced a bipartisan resolution Thursday morning blocking President Donald Trump from using future military force on Venezuela absent congressional authorization.

Lawmakers voted 52 to 47 to bring the war powers resolution to the Senate floor, overcoming a 50-vote threshold. The vast majority of Republicans rejected the effort to assert congressional oversight of Trump’s use of military action with the five defections limited to Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Todd Young of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Paul were among the resolution’s cosponsors. Every Democratic senator voted to check the president’s authority.

A vote on final passage in the Senate is expected to happen next week. It is unclear whether House GOP leadership will allow the measure to come to the floor.

The White House urged senators to reject the resolution, citing “ongoing national security threats” posed by Venezuelan drug cartels. Trump would veto the measure if it reaches his desk, according to a statement of administration policy released Thursday.

Hawley, a close Trump ally, disputed that his “yes” vote should be viewed as crossing the president.

“On a going forward basis … that if the president should determine that he needs to put troops on the ground of Venezuela, I think then that Congress would have to be on the hook for that,” Hawley told reporters following the vote.

The Missouri Republican expressed skepticism of regime change in Venezuela during a brief interview with the