The Senate will vote next week on a war-powers resolution intended to block President Trump from continuing military action against Venezuela.
The bipartisan resolution is privileged, which means Senate Majority Leader John Thune cannot prevent it from reaching the floor.
The measure is sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
It will require only a simple majority to pass the Senate.
“It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy and trade,” Kaine said in a statement.
“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.
“We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape,” the senator added.
Schiff warned that Trump’s action against Maduro risks plunging the region into “chaos.”
“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,” the California Democrat said in a statement.
The Senate war powers resolution has a chance of passing next week as all Democrats and Rand Paul are expected to vote for it.
Three Republicans would have to vote for the resolution in order for it to pass.
As Axios notes, “Moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and populist conservative Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has long expressed misgivings about U.S.-led foreign military engagements, could potentially vote for the measure.”
However, the resolution would then have to pass the House and be signed by President Trump.
Trump would veto any restriction on his power as commander-in-chief, and neither chamber would have enough votes to override the veto.
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