WATCH: Senate advances war powers resolution to limit Trump after Venezuela raid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday advanced a resolution that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to launch further attacks against Venezuela, expressing disapproval of his growing ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.

Watch the Senate floor live in the video player above.

Democrats and five Republicans voted in favor of the draft War Powers Resolution by 52 votes to 47, ensuring a vote next week on its final passage. It has almost no chance of becoming law because Trump would have to sign it if it passes the Republican-controlled House. However, it was a significant gesture that demonstrated unease among some Republicans after the US military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

Read more: Trump is sidelining the Venezuelan opposition leader while keeping Maduro’s party in power

The Trump administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and government, but a war powers resolution would require congressional approval for any further attacks on the South American country.

“For me, it’s all about moving forward,” said Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the five Republican votes. He added: “If the president decides: ‘You know what? I need to put troops on Venezuelan soil.'” “I think that will require Congress to intervene.”

Other Republicans who supported the resolution were Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Todd Young of Indiana.

He watches: Republican Rep. Bacon says Trump focused too much on oil after firing Maduro

Democrats failed to pass many of these resolutions in the months in which Trump escalated his campaign against Venezuela. But lawmakers said that with Trump taking on Maduro and setting his sights on other conquests such as Greenland, the vote presents the Republican-controlled Congress with an opportunity.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who forced the vote, said: “It is time for Congress to assert control over military action of this kind, and it is time to bring this matter out of secrecy and into the spotlight.”

Lawmakers’ response to the Venezuela operation

Republican leaders said they received no advance notice of the early Saturday morning raid to arrest Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, but mostly expressed satisfaction this week as senior administration officials provided classified briefings on the operation.

The administration has used a sophisticated array of legal justifications for the months-long campaign in Central and South America, from destroying alleged drug boats under mandates for the global war on terrorism, to arresting Maduro in what was ostensibly a law enforcement operation to prosecute him in the United States.

Republican leaders have supported Trump.

“I think the president has at least already demonstrated a very strong commitment to peace through strength, especially in this hemisphere,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. “I think Venezuela has received this message loud and clear.”

A vote on a similar resolution in November narrowly failed to obtain the majority necessary to pass it. Paul and Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote in favor at the time.

Paul, an outspoken supporter of war powers resolutions, acknowledged that Maduro is viewed as a “bad guy” and a “socialist and autocrat.” But Paul added: “The question is who has the power to take the country to war?”

Some progressive Democrats have suggested including language in the defense appropriations bill to limit some military actions, but that idea has met with resistance from more pragmatic members of the caucus. Democratic leaders have tried to portray Trump’s foreign ambitions as a distraction from the issues voters face at home.

He added: “The American people are wondering what the hell is happening in Venezuela, and why is this president, who campaigned under the slogan ‘America First’, spending all his time and energy on adventures abroad?” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a speech.

House Democrats also introduced a similar resolution on Thursday.

The War Powers Act is rarely enforced

Congress was once again left in the dark during the military operation in Venezuela, with Trump later confirming that he had spoken to oil executives but not leaders on Capitol Hill. This reflects a broader pattern in Trump’s second term, one unfolding under a Republican-controlled Congress that has shown little desire to reassert its constitutional authority to declare war.

Under the Constitution, Congress declares war while the president serves as commander-in-chief. But lawmakers have not formally declared war since World War II, giving presidents broad latitude to act unilaterally.

Congress tried to curb that power after the Vietnam War through the War Powers Resolution, which passed a veto by Republican President Richard Nixon. The law requires presidents to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops and to end military action within 60 to 90 days if authorization is not obtained — limits that presidents of both parties have routinely extended.

Democrats say those limits are being pushed further than ever before. Some Republicans have gone further, arguing that congressional approval is completely unnecessary.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally who traveled with the president on Air Force One on Sunday, said he would be comfortable with Trump taking control of other countries without congressional approval, including Greenland.

“The commander in chief is the commander in chief. They can use military force,” Graham said.

Greenland may test the limits further

Graham’s comments come as the administration considers not only its next steps in Venezuela, but also in Greenland. The White House said that “the military is always an option” when it comes to potential US control of the world’s largest island.

While Republicans have pointed to Greenland’s strategic value, most have rejected the idea of ​​using the military to control the country, favoring instead a potential deal to buy the country.

Democrats want to stand up to any military action and are already preparing to respond. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said he is working on passing a resolution “to prevent Trump from invading Greenland.”

“We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim. No more forever wars,” Gallego wrote on X.

Kaine also said Wednesday that a resolution on Greenland, as well as Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Nigeria, will soon be introduced.

Greenland belongs to Denmark, a NATO ally, which sparked much different reactions from Republican senators than the situation in Venezuela. Paul said Republicans discussed Trump’s plans for Greenland at a lunch on Wednesday and he heard “no support” for military action to seize it.

Sen. Thom Tillis, co-chair of the Senate NATO observers group, used a speech on the Senate floor to criticize White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller for his comments this week that the United States should take control of Greenland. Tillis said such statements were “off the record” and “ridiculous.”

“This nonsense about what’s happening in Greenland is a distraction from the good work he’s doing,” Tillis said of the president. “And the amateurs who said it was a good idea should lose their jobs.”