CNN
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Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to limit the Donald Trump administration‘s military action in Venezuela, a victory for the president, who bristled at attempts by some members of his own party to tie his hands on a key foreign policy issue.
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday night to cast the tie-breaking vote, thwarting the move that would have forced the Trump administration to seek congressional approval before using more military force in the country.
Five Republicans had initially voted with Democrats last week to bring the initiative to the floor, but Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Todd Young eventually withdrew their support after an intense pressure campaign by the Trump administration, which included calls from the president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The last-minute stance changes underscore the president’s significant influence over his party, as well as his willingness to attack any member who deviates from his agenda. The first Republicans to break ranks faced the wrath of Trump, who publicly criticized them and vowed to end their political careers.
Republican leaders and the White House have closely followed the vote, which comes as members of Congress have pressed the administration for answers on its next steps in the growing conflict with Venezuela.
Hawley told reporters before the vote that Rubio’s insistence that no ground troops would be sent to Venezuela, as well as his commitment that the Administration would seek congressional authorization if that changed, ultimately convinced him that the resolution was not necessary.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a major co-sponsor of the resolution, mocked Hawley’s decision hours before the vote. “So you don’t think Congress has a role in the war? That seems strange to me,” he told reporters.
Young, a Republican senator from Indiana, said Wednesday that he now opposes the resolution that would have forced Trump to obtain congressional approval if hostilities escalated with Venezuela.
Young, who had been in talks with Rubio, told CNN that he received “pretty broad personal assurances” from the administration about the US role in Venezuela.
Among those guarantees, according to Young, is that before “any major military operation in Venezuela,” the Administration “will go to Congress” to request its approval. He also indicated that Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later this month.
