17 hours ago

Trump Tears Into 5 Republicans Over Venezuela Rebuke

President Donald Trump attacked the five Republican senators who sided with Democrats on a largely symbolic vote to curb the president from using military force against Venezuela.

The Senate voted 52 to 47 to advance Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) resolution under the War Powers Act earlier Thursday, with Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Todd Young (Ind.), and Josh Hawley (Mo.) crossing party lines to serve the president a rare rebuke.

Politics: Trump Baselessly Claims ICE Shooting Victim 'Willfully And Viciously Ran Over' Agent

The measure would require congressional approval for any further attacks on the South American country, but has virtually no chance of becoming law because Trump would likely veto the legislation if it were to pass the Republican-controlled House.

In a Truth Social post shortly afterwards, Trump said, “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America.”

He named the five GOP lawmakers and said they should “never be elected to office again.”

Trump added that the vote “greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security.”

The backlash comes after the U.S. military seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro over the weekend. The Trump administration has ramped up the rhetoric over possible military action against other Latin American countries and Greenland.

In a statement, Young said he backed the plan to nab Maduro but opposed Trump’s order to deploy “boots on the ground” without congressional approval.

“Although I remain open to persuasion, any future commitment of U.S. forces in Venezuela must be subject to debate and authorization in Congress,” he said.