House rejects resolution to bar Trump from deploying troops to Venezuela

The US House rejected a Democratic-backed war powers resolution that would have stopped President Donald Trump from sending US military forces to Venezuela after a tied vote fell short of the majority needed for passage. Republican leaders held the vote open for more than 20 minutes while Republican congressman Wesley Hunt, who had been campaigning for a Texas Senate seat, rushed back to Capitol Hill to cast the decisive vote.

Democrats on the floor shouted that leaders were violating procedural rules. Two Republicans, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, joined all Democrats in support of the legislation. The resolution would have directed Trump to remove US troops from Venezuela. The Trump administration told senators last week there are no US troops on the ground in Venezuela and said it would obtain congressional approval before launching major military operations there.

Democrats said the vote was necessary after US troops captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, in a surprise nighttime raid earlier this month that left Congress in the dark. A similar Senate measure was tied last week until Senator JD Vance broke the deadlock. The vote was described as another test of how much leeway House Republicans will give the president; so far, the article said, almost all Republicans have declined to use war powers votes to check Trump.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Venezuela, War Powers Act, Nicolas Maduro, Jd Vance