U.S. Senate Lifts Limits on Trump’s Power to Attack Venezuela

Nov 8, 2025 at 09:15 AM

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Lanka Leader

The U.S. Senate has narrowly voted down a bill that sought to require congressional approval before President Donald Trump could take military action against Venezuela.

The measure failed by a slim margin of 51 to 49 on Thursday, despite two Republican senators joining Democrats in support — effectively leaving Trump free to act without legislative oversight.

“We should not be going to war without a vote of Congress,” warned Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored the bill.

The decision comes as Washington increases its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying a nuclear submarine and a fleet of warships accompanying the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier. Recent U.S. strikes on vessels in international waters near Venezuela and Colombia have reportedly killed at least 65 people.

While U.S. officials allege the targeted boats were linked to drug trafficking, Latin American leaders, victims’ families, and legal experts have condemned the strikes as unlawful and extrajudicial, noting that many of those killed were fishermen.

President Trump has hinted that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered,” though he has denied planning a formal war. When pressed by CBS on potential land strikes, Trump replied, “I don’t talk to a reporter about whether or not I’m going to strike.”

The failed bill underscores how Washington’s executive branch can sidestep both international law and constitutional checks to engage militarily abroad — a reminder of Congress’s fading control over war powers reaffirmed in the 1973 War Powers Resolution.