WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday voted down a measure requiring congressional approval for any military action by President Donald Trump against Venezuela.
The bipartisan resolution failed in a 49-51 vote that required a simple majority to pass. Two Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined all 47 Democrats voting in support of the measure.
Hours after the vote, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced another strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. The administration has carried out at least 17 such strikes in the region, including the eastern Pacific, killing at least 69 people.
Trump last month indicated that he would not seek congressional approval for additional military strikes against alleged drug traffickers. Instead, he said, "We’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., an outspoken critic of administrations of both parties conducting military strikes without congressional approval, said in a statement Thursday that his no vote was “not an endorsement of the Administration’s current course in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.”
“As a matter of policy, I am troubled by many aspects and assumptions of this operation and believe it is at odds with the majority of Americans who want the U.S. military less entangled in international conflicts,” he said.
Members of Congress last month voiced concern over the Trump administration not sharing information about the military strikes. The administration later held a briefing for Republicans but excluded Democrats, sparking criticism on both sides of the aisle. On Wednesday, some Senate Democrats were included in a classified briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth.
A similar resolution related to strikes in the Caribbean Sea failed in the Senate, 48-51, last month. Like Thursday's vote, Murkowski and Paul were the only Republicans to support that measure.
