(Adnkronos) – The measure to prevent Donald Trump from ordering further military actions in Venezuela was blocked in the Senate after two of the five Republicans who had voted with the Democrats in support of the measure last week changed their position. The decisive vote of Vice President JD Vance broke the 50-50 tie, thus decreeing the shelving of the measure, before the debate and final vote.
The two conservative senators Josh Hawley and Todd Young were convinced by the Trump administration, and in particular by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that there is no intention to deploy troops in Venezuela after the January 3 raid. Meanwhile, moderates Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who have repeatedly taken positions contrary to Trump’s in the past, voted in favor of the resolution, along with libertarian Rand Paul, co-sponsor of the measure.
Even if approved by the Senate, the measure would not have had the possibility of becoming law, as its passage in the House would have been unlikely, but its approval, with the vote of Republicans critical of the president’s action, would have been a negative political signal. Before yesterday’s vote, Rubio sent a letter to the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, James Risch, assuring that “there are currently no US troops in Venezuela” and that the administration commits to notifying Congress of any further operations, as required by the War Powers Act. A notification that would not have occurred before the January 3 raid, the Washington Post points out.
