House Rejects Bipartisan Attempt To Block Trump From Using Military Force Against Venezuela
The House of Representatives on Wednesday evening rejected a bipartisan attempt to restrict President Donald Trump’s authority to use force against Venezuela.
Lawmakers voted 211-213 against a war powers resolution that would have blocked Trump from using military force against Venezuela without congressional authorization. The failed vote comes a day after Trump designated Maduro’s regime a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. (RELATED: Lindsey Graham suggests drug boat strikes will be in vain if Trump allows socialist dictator to stay)
Under U.S. law, Congress can prohibit the president from using military force against a country or entity without the explicit approval of the legislature.
The resolution, sponsored by Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, attracted support from two leading anti-foreign intervention voices within the Republican Party, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a retired moderate Republican who has frequently criticized Trump, also sponsored the war powers resolution.
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar was the only Democratic lawmaker to oppose the resolution checking Trump’s credentials. On December 3, Trump forgiven the embattled congressman, who was scheduled to stand trial in 2026 on federal corruption charges.
“When the power of war vests in one person, liberty dissolves,” Massie wrote on X. “Congress must vote before the president attempts regime change.” »
Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, countered that Trump did not need congressional authorization to carry out “precise and limited strikes.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech while holding the “Sword of Peru” of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar during a military ceremony in Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas, November 25, 2025. (Photo by Federico PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump ordered the military to quickly increase its presence in the waters around Venezuela, reaching more than 15,000 troops. The administration is also engaged in a months-long campaign against suspected Venezuelan drug ships in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing nearly 100 reputed traffickers in more than two dozen strikes.
The president told Politico that socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered” and suggested ground strikes in the country could begin soon.
The House also rejected a resolution Wednesday from New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks that would prevent the president from using force against any “presidentially designated foreign terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere” unless authorized by Congress. The measure failed by a vote of 210 to 216.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday expressed approval of the growing pressure campaign against Maduro.
Asked by reporters whether the Trump administration was considering regime change in Venezuela, the majority leader responded: “I don’t know if that’s a publicly stated political position, but I don’t know – I certainly wouldn’t have a problem if that was their position. I mean, I think Maduro is a cancer on this continent.”
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles clarified Trump’s strategy toward Venezuela in a series of explosive interviews with Vanity Fair published Tuesday.
“He [Trump] wants to keep blowing up boats until Maduro screams uncle,” Wiles told the outlet. She also admitted that Trump would need congressional approval for a ground war with Venezuela.
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