President Donald Trump reacted with fury Thursday when five Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to block him from conducting additional military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.
Thanks to the votes of Republican Sens. Josh Hawley, Todd Young, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Rand Paul, the Venezuela war powers resolution is now reportedly headed to the House.
NOW – U.S. Senate passes Venezuela war powers resolution 52-47, backing limits to block Trump from further Venezuela military action without congressional authorization. pic.twitter.com/SvdIpL8VO3
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 8, 2026
The president responded with an angry rant posted to Truth Social.
“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 wrote. “Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again.”
“This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief. In any event, and despite their ‘stupidity,’ the War Powers Act is Unconstitutional, totally violating Article II of the Constitution, as all Presidents, and their Departments of Justice, have determined before me,” he added.
Senate Republicans reportedly didn’t take kindly to the rant.
“I would encourage the people around the president to understand what’s at stake in this election,” retiring Sen. Thom Tillis told The Hill. “We’ve got several seats in play. We’ve got even more so in the House.”
“This is a time for Republicans to put their differences behind closed doors and support each other. That will absolutely be material that people will use against members if they can, and we’ve just got to be careful with it,” he added.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito outright defended her treacherous colleagues.
“I respect my colleagues, even though I disagree with them, for their ability to express their opinion through their vote,” she said. “I guess the president’s free to express his displeasure.”
Collins, who’s up for reelection this year in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won during the 2024 presidential election, meanwhile fired back with sarcasm.
“The president, obviously, is unhappy with the vote … I guess this means that he would prefer to have [to deal with] Governor Mills or somebody else with whom he’s not had a great relationship,” she said.
Current Maine Gov. Janet Mills is one of several Democrats jockeying for Collins’ position in the upcoming 2026 race.
Hawley took a different direction by posting a tweet defending his vote on the grounds that Congress needs to weigh in first before Trump goes off and conducts military action in Venezuela or elsewhere:
With regard to Venezuela, my read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it. That’s why I voted yes on this morning’s Senate resolution.
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 8, 2026
Sen. Young defended his vote to Time magazine by arguing that it was “about potential future military action, not completed successful operations,” meaning he wasn’t voicing opposition to Trump’s already-completed strikes in Venezuela.
“The President and members of his team have stated that the United States now ‘runs’ Venezuela,” he said. “It is unclear if that means that an American military presence will be required to stabilize the country. [I am] not prepared to commit American troops to that mission.”
Then there’s Paul, who told CBS News that he hasn’t taken Trump’s rant personally.
“On this issue, it’s a constitutional debate,” the senator said. “What I said to him is it’s more of an academic debate than it is an anti-Donald Trump [debate]. I think it’s easy for presidents to take things personally.”
And finally, Sen. John Cornyn rushed to Trump’s defense by noting that his anger is a temporary thing, as evidenced by his relationship with Vice President J.D. Vance, who used to be a Never Trumper.
“The president has shown himself capable of seeing the long game,” Cornyn said. “But like anybody, he gets irritated with folks from time to time, and doesn’t hesitate to express himself. These are little, temporary kerfuffles that I don’t think count in the long term.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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