President Donald Trump called for a group of Republicans to lose their reelection bids Thursday after they voted to check his authority to use military force on Venezuela.
Frequent Trump critics — Republicans Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — were among the group of five Republicans who Trump excoriated for voting to block future military action absent congressional approval. Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young, who did not back Trump in 2024, also supported the measure. Trump also notably lashed out at Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a close populist ally who stunningly broke with the president during Thursday’s vote.
“This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the five dissenting Republicans should be “ashamed” of their votes and “should never be elected to office again.”
Trump also argued the legislation underpinning senators’ attempts to restrict his use of military force to be unconstitutional.
Hawley, a leading populist in the Senate who frequently breaks with traditional Republican orthodoxy on economic issues, said his vote in support of the war powers resolution should not be interpreted as a rebuke of the president.
The Missouri Republican said he voted to check the president’s authority over concerns Trump could send troops to Venezuela. He previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation in November that he opposed U.S. government-backed regime change and feared getting drawn into a costly foreign war.
“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,” Hawley wrote on X following the vote.
The lawmaker told reporters that he had no reaction to the president calling for an end to his political career.
“I think the president is great,” Hawley said. “I certainly support him.”
The senator, who cruised to reelection in 2024, is not up for reelection until 2030. He has also been floated as a presidential contender for 2028.
Trump also ripped Hawley in July for voting to advance a congressional stock trading ban.
On Wednesday, Hawley enthusiastically backed Trump’s promise to ban large investors from gobbling up more single-family homes, arguing the move would ease housing affordability concerns.
Trump’s social media post also criticized Collins, a moderate Republican, who has frequently become a target of the president’s ire. The intraparty tensions threaten to undercut Republicans’ efforts to reelect Collins, whose victory in 2026 could prevent Democrats from retaking Senate control.
Collins said she supported Trump’s military operation to depose Maduro, which she described as “extraordinary in its precision and complexity” in a statement Thursday. However, she clarified that she is firmly against long-term military involvement in Venezuela absent congressional approval.
The Maine Republican fired back at Trump in an exchange with reporters, asking whether Trump would be more satisfied with a Democratic senator in her seat. Collins is the only GOP incumbent up for reelection in 2026 representing a state that Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024.
“I guess this means that he would prefer to have Governor Mills or somebody else with whom he’s not had a great relationship,” Collins said.
Democrats are aggressively seeking to defeat Collins during the midterms. Bernie Sanders-backed oyster farmer Graham Platner and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills are seeking to challenge Collins, who have successively fended off Democratic opponents during prior runs.
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