Senate votes to limit Trump on Venezuela

The Senate on Thursday voted to advance legislation that would force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before taking any new military action in Venezuela, a stunning rebuke for the White House in the first big test of GOP unity since the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri backed the measure to check Trump in a 52-47 vote. Paul, a cosponsor of the resolution, and Murkowski have supported previous attempts to rein in Trump. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania also supported the measure despite previously signaling he might oppose it.

The vote is a shocking sign of divisions among Republicans on Trump's plans for the South American country, and an about face to a November vote on limiting Trump that failed. Democrats have promised more tough votes that force Republicans to take a public stance as Trump threatens to seize Greenland and floats military action in Colombia.

The administration did not request congressional approval for the surprise raid that took out the South American country’s leader. Officials have argued the operation was a law enforcement effort against a drug kingpin and therefore didn’t need to seek lawmakers’ consent.

But critics point to Trump’s refusal to rule out further military action, his comment that the U.S. will "run" the country and control its oil sales, and the continued deployment of military forces in the region.

Three Republicans who previously opposed efforts to restrict Trump changed their votes in this latest effort, which comes less than a week after the administration’s capture. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hawley and Young supported the measure after opposing an earlier resolution that came to the floor before Maduro’s ouster.

Fetterman, who voted alongside fellow Democrats, was seen as a wild card headed into the vote. He hailed the military operation that ousted Maduro, but had supported a previous effort to require Trump to seek congressional input on Venezuela.

The vote is a shocking sign of divisions among the GOP on Trump's plans for the South American country, including the president's pronouncements that the U.S. will "run" Venezuela and control its oil sales.

The Senate will next debate the measure and vote to pass it. But the resolution would still need to pass the House, which could prove tricker. And if it does, Trump is likely to veto it. The margin of victory in Thursday’s vote was well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.