US House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday narrowly defeated a resolution that sought to prevent President Donald Trump from carrying out further military action in Venezuela without explicit authorisation from Congress. The move came just days after a similar war powers measure failed in the Senate.
The House vote ended in a 215–215 tie, which meant the resolution did not pass. The measure would have directed the president to remove US armed forces from Venezuela unless Congress declared war or passed specific legislation authorising the use of military force.
The vote followed strict party lines in the closely divided chamber, where Republicans hold a slim 218–213 majority. All Democrats voted in favour of the resolution, while all Republicans opposed it except Representatives Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Republican leaders kept the vote open to allow Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas to return and cast a decisive vote against the measure. California Republican Tom McClintock did not vote.
The outcome highlighted growing unease in Congress, including among some Republicans, about Trump’s foreign policy approach. Supporters of the resolution argued that the US Constitution clearly gives Congress the authority to decide when the country goes to war, not the president acting alone.
Opponents countered that the resolution was unnecessary, arguing that there are no US combat troops currently fighting in Venezuela. Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida said during the debate that the United States does not have forces engaged in active combat there. Republicans also accused Democrats of using the legislation primarily to attack Trump politically rather than address an actual military escalation.
Supporters of the measure rejected that claim, saying their aim was to prevent the US from being drawn into another prolonged conflict. Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks of New York said Americans want lawmakers to focus on domestic economic issues rather than enable another “forever war,” referencing long US engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The debate unfolded against the backdrop of dramatic recent US actions in Venezuela. Earlier this month, US forces entered Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while American naval forces imposed a blockade and targeted vessels accused of drug trafficking in nearby waters. Trump has since suggested the US could run Venezuela for years and has issued other aggressive foreign policy threats, including toward Greenland and Iran.
Some Democrats criticised the administration for what they described as a lack of planning after Maduro’s removal, arguing that much of the existing power structure in Venezuela remains intact. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said the machinery of repression had been left in place, undermining Venezuelans’ hopes for democratic change.
The House vote followed a similarly close outcome in the Senate last week, where a war powers resolution failed only after Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, a lead sponsor of the House measure, said that if the president is considering further military action, he has a constitutional obligation to seek approval from Congress.
The Trump administration maintains that Maduro’s capture was a limited law enforcement operation aimed at bringing him to trial in the United States on drug-related charges, rather than a broader military intervention.
