Femi Ashekun/
Trump reacted angrily after the United States Senate voted to advance a resolution seeking to limit his authority to carry out further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval, following a controversial US raid that led to the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The Senate voted 52 to 47 to move the measure forward, with all Democrats and five Republican senators backing the resolution, marking a rare bipartisan challenge to presidential war powers.
The move reflects mounting concern in Congress over the administration’s decision to launch a military operation in Venezuela without explicit legislative authorisation.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump lashed out at the lawmakers who supported the resolution, accusing them of undermining national security and weakening the presidency.
He singled out Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley and Todd Young, saying they should never be elected to office again.
Trump described the vote as a direct threat to American self defence and national security and insisted it impeded the president’s authority as commander in chief.
He also dismissed the War Powers Act as unconstitutional, arguing that it violates Article II of the US Constitution.
The Senate action follows a dramatic US military operation in Venezuela during which American forces entered the country and captured President Maduro and his wife in Caracas.
The pair were subsequently flown to the United States to face narcoterrorism related charges, an operation that stunned the international community and triggered widespread diplomatic fallout across Latin America.
Trump has defended the raid as a necessary law enforcement and national security operation aimed at combating drug trafficking and restoring stability in the region.
He has also suggested that the United States could temporarily oversee Venezuela’s governance and manage its vast oil resources, remarks that further inflamed criticism at home and abroad.
Lawmakers backing the Senate resolution argue that the Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the authority to approve acts of war, warning that unchecked military action risks dragging the country into prolonged and unauthorised conflicts.
They say the Venezuela operation crossed a constitutional line and set a dangerous precedent for future interventions.
Supporters of Trump counter that the raid did not amount to a declaration of war but was instead a targeted enforcement action, and therefore fell within the president’s executive powers.
They have dismissed the Senate vote as political theatre that could weaken America’s ability to respond swiftly to security threats.
The resolution now moves to the House of Representatives, where its prospects remain uncertain.
Even if approved, Trump is expected to veto the measure, and Congress is unlikely to have the votes required to override it, setting the stage for a deepening constitutional and political confrontation over the limits of presidential power.
0Related posts:
Maduro’s Capture: Power, Oil and the Cost of Cognitive Blind Spots
Trump Mourns Chief-Critic McCain, Banned From Burial
US, Russia, China, Britain at War Over Venezuela’s Guaido
After Venezuela, Trump Targets Colombia, Threatens Mexico, Cuba, Iran, Greenland
Saraki Recalls Saddest Day at National Assembly, Bade Senators Farewell …Presents Scorecard
Internal Security Dynamics and the Imperative of a New Policing Thought in Nigeria