Senate GOP, led by Vance tie-breaker, blocks bid to rein in Trump’s Venezuela military action

Senate Republicans, backed by a late-night tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, have blocked an attempt to limit the Trump administration’s military actions in Venezuela, underlining President Donald Trump’s continued grip over his party on matters of foreign policy and war powers.

The resolution, which would have required congressional approval for any further use of US military force in or against Venezuela, failed after two Republican senators reversed their earlier support, producing a 50–50 split that Vance broke in favour of party leadership. The final procedural vote rejected the measure 51–50.

Their reversal followed what lawmakers described as an intense pressure campaign by the White House, including personal calls from Trump and from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The manoeuvre produced a deadlocked Senate and cleared the way for Vance to travel to Capitol Hill on Wednesday night to cast the decisive vote, effectively preventing the resolution from even reaching final consideration.

After the vote, Trump again lashed out on social media, condemning the senators’ “stupidity” and saying they should lose their seats. White House officials and senior Republican figures had been urging wavering lawmakers to fall back in line since last week’s surprise vote.

On Tuesday, Senator James R. Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to the White House seeking confirmation that Operation Absolute Resolve had ended and that “US military personnel are no longer involved in hostilities in Venezuela.”

In a response sent Wednesday morning, Rubio stressed the operation’s limited scope, assuring Risch that “there are currently no US armed forces in Venezuela.” He added that any future actions placing American forces into hostilities would be undertaken “consistent with the Constitution” and that Congress would be notified in line with the War Powers Resolution.

Hawley said assurances from Rubio—both in the letter and during phone calls from the secretary and Trump—had persuaded him that the resolution was no longer necessary.

“Nobody knows what will happen,” Hawley said Wednesday morning, “and that is why the commitment today from him to follow the relevant statutes, the notification procedures and to come back to Congress, I think, is really significant.”

Young similarly said he had received “fairly extensive personal assurances related to our future intentions in Venezuela,” and noted that Rubio had agreed to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee next month in the first public hearing on the campaign.

Paul, the sole Republican co-sponsor, said he remained unconvinced despite speaking with Trump, accusing party leaders of “playing games” and the administration of shifting justifications.

“Oh, it’s a drug bust. Oh, we’re going for drugs. Oh, it’s not really drugs, now it’s oil,” he said. “So see, the bait and switch has already happened.”

Democrats argued that US military involvement was ongoing and demanded stronger congressional oversight.

“There are US military seizing Venezuelan oil every day. There’s US military striking Venezuelans on boats in the water every day. We’re not occupying their country without the military,” Kaine said. “We just went in and deposed their government. We are controlling who governs the country. We are controlling when Venezuelans are entitled to have elections again. We’re controlling their chief economic asset. That’s all being done by the US military.”

“It’s pretty clear, in my view at least, that there are no hostilities that exist today, which, as I’ve suggested before, means that it shouldn’t be accorded privilege on the floor,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.