Republican Senator Rand Paul has joined Democrats in efforts to block President Donald Trump from continuing military action against Venezuela.
In the wake of the dramatic arrest of the nation’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, the Senate is poised to vote on a war powers resolution that is marked as “privileged, which means Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) cannot stop it from coming to the floor,” The Hill reported.
A simple majority is all that is needed to pass what is being touted as a “bipartisan” resolution since Kentucky Republican Rand Paul joined forces with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA).
“Any war powers resolution passed by the Senate would need to be approved by the House and signed by Trump to have the force of law,” The Hill noted, adding that RINO Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) “and populist conservative Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who has long expressed misgivings about U.S.-led military engagements in foreign countries, could potentially vote for the measure.”
In an op-ed published over the weekend, Paul addressed his condemnation of the Venezuelan regime under Maduro while also warning of the constitutional powers of the U.S. president.
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 3, 2026
“While celebrating the demise of Maduro, the fact that his toppling came by executive order and not by Congressional declaration is not an insignificant point. In this case, a leader who monopolized central power is removed in an action that monopolizes central power,” the libertarian lawmaker wrote.
“Time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost. Best, though, not to forget, that our founders limited the executive’s power to go to war without Congressional authorization for a reason—to limit the horror of war and limit war to acts of defense,” he added.
Sen. Tim Kaine blasted Trump’s “unauthorized military attack on Venezuela,” noting that the war powers resolution that he co-sponsored will be up for a vote.
“It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy, and trade,” said the Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. “My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week.”
“Acting without Congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them,” sputtered Schiff in his own statement.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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