Let's get out of Minneapolis for a moment and see what's happening in Washington, D.C. We have to back up a couple of scandals to last weekend, when Delta Force captured Venezuelan narcoterrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to be indicted on drug and gun charges. We heard quite a bit of squawking from members of Congress about how only they have the power to declare war. This wasn't a war, however; it's what the Obama administration would have called a "kinetic action."
The Senate voted 52-47 on Thursday to advance a resolution to "direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within and against Venezuela."
🚨 BREAKING: US Senate votes to ADVANCE War Powers Resolution reining in President Trump’s actions on Venezuela, 52-47, with several Republicans joining Democrats.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 8, 2026
The White House CONFIRMED this would be vetoed.
REPUBLICAN 'YEAS':
Susan Collins
Josh Hawley
Lisa Murkowski
Rand… pic.twitter.com/dhaTwf3tip
The last two names are Rand Paul and Todd Young.
All Democrats voted in favor of the joint resolution, including Sen. John Fetterman, who explained:
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) January 8, 2026
The "war" in Venezuela is already over. We got Maduro and removed him from power.
Needless to say, President Donald Trump was not pleased with the defections.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump ERUPTS on the Republican senators who just voted to approve the War Powers resolution that would rein in his Venezuela operations, says NEVER ELECT THEM AGAIN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 8, 2026
"Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be… pic.twitter.com/eo0mAwnAZw
The post continues:
… 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. Nevertheless, a more important Senate Vote will be taking place next week on this very subject."
He's furious.
Luckily, this is NOT final approval. Only advancement. Trump would veto it as well.
Politico reports:
President Donald Trump lashed out at the five Republican senators who voted to advance legislation that would constrain his war powers in Venezuela on Thursday.
The GOP lawmakers — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri — joined with the chamber’s entire slate of Democrats to tee up a vote that could compel Trump to seek the approval of Congress before taking any additional military action in Venezuela.
The president, who is looking to wield his foreign policy powers to reassert greater U.S. control over the Western Hemisphere, wrote on his social media platform Thursday that Republicans “should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats to take our Powers.”
The senators, he declared, “should never be elected to office again.”
The Constitution clearly gives the Commander-in-Chief authority to act in America’s defense…any vote that undermines that is a serious mistake.
— American Citizen 🇺🇸 (@realtalkstruth) January 8, 2026
— "Red" Baron 🎸🇺🇸 (@RedRobbyBaron) January 8, 2026
You do not undermine the commander in chief in the middle of a confrontation and call it oversight.
— Johnathon Corcoran 👑 🇮🇪 | Mr. Intelligent (@TheKingCorcoran) January 8, 2026
Hawley is surprising tbh, too bad
— Ohmly (@k0nfuciu5) January 8, 2026
The usual suspects.
— Stephen (@01splcheck) January 8, 2026
"Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again."
Trump
The military is done with the operation so it's kind of a after the fact vote.
— Jay (@JasonMyer) January 8, 2026
It doesnt work like that. President is the commander and chief of the military. Nobody can tell him how to command the military.
— Lielceļa rikšotājs (@transhumaanists) January 8, 2026
Can't he just veto it?
— Susan McChesney (@SuzMcChesney28) January 8, 2026
It’s important to note that this was only a procedural vote and was not final passage.
— Rodster (New) 🇺🇸 (@clantro417) January 8, 2026
That's an important point. But it was a bipartisan rebuke of the president, and he's not going to forget the Republicans who voted for it.
***
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
Help us report on Trump and Hegesth's successes as they make our military great again. Join Twitchy VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member