A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced plans on October 17, 2025, to force a vote on a resolution aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct military strikes against Venezuela without congressional approval. The move comes amid growing concern over a series of U.S. attacks in the Caribbean that have killed at least 27 people.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, joined by fellow Democrat Adam Schiff of California and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, introduced the war powers resolution in response to Trump’s repeated authorization of strikes on vessels off the Venezuelan coast. The administration has described the operations as part of a campaign against drug traffickers, but critics argue that the actions lack both legal and constitutional justification.
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“It’s clear there’s no congressional authorization for this action,” Kaine said, citing the U.S. Constitution’s provision that only Congress—not the president—may authorize acts of war, except for short-term defensive measures.
The Trump administration’s campaign in the southern Caribbean has continued for several weeks, accompanied by threats of potential land-based operations in Venezuela. Trump also revealed that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out covert missions targeting the Maduro government.
The strikes have drawn international criticism and legal scrutiny. Colombia, which condemned the operations, said one of the destroyed vessels was Colombian and carried its citizens—an allegation the Trump administration has dismissed as “baseless.” Venezuela, meanwhile, has asked the United Nations Security Council to rule that the strikes are illegal.
The controversy deepened following news that Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, would retire at year’s end—an unexpected development that fueled speculation about internal disagreements over the campaign.
Kaine and other lawmakers said Congress has received little information from the administration about the strikes, including who was killed, what evidence of drug trafficking exists, or how much the operations are costing. “It’s a complete black hole,” Kaine said.
He also questioned the necessity of lethal force. “The administration hasn’t explained why it needed to blow up the vessels, killing everyone on board, instead of intercepting them,” he added. Trump, for his part, dismissed interception as “politically correct,” claiming such methods had failed to curb the drug trade.
A similar resolution to restrict Trump’s military authority narrowly failed in the Senate last week by a 51–48 vote, with two Republicans supporting it and one Democrat opposing. Kaine said he hopes the new resolution—to bar military action against or within Venezuela without congressional approval—will gain additional bipartisan support.
“The military is not to be used just so we can kill anyone we want anywhere in the world, as long as the president has put them on a secret list,” Kaine said. “I may be optimistic, but I think there will come a point when more Republicans will say, ‘Hold on a second.’”
