Utah’s 2 senators vote against resolution limiting Trump’s actions in Venezuela

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s two U.S. senators voted against a resolution that would limit President Donald Trump from conducting further military action in Venezuela without the approval of Congress.

Sen. John Curtis and Sen. Mike Lee were among the Republicans who opposed the measure during a vote Thursday. But five other Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Todd Young of Indiana — joined Democrats to pass the resolution, 52-47, sending it to the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

This comes after President Trump last weekend announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were brought to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges. The president also said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela pending a transfer of power in that country.

Lee, a strong supporter of Trump, initially questioned the president’s authority to carry out the operation in Venezuela. But he has since changed his tune.

“The arrest of wanted narcoterrorist Nicolas Maduro was a wild success, within President Trump’s lawful authority, and further military engagements are not anticipated, so the resolution is currently unnecessary,” Lee told KSL on Friday, explaining his vote from the day before.

Seeing five Republicans join Democrats in supporting the measure infuriated Trump, who said on social media that they “should never be elected to office again.”

Curtis, Utah’s freshman junior senator, did not comment Friday on his vote. But he joined with Lee in opposing the resolution, days after pushing back on Trump’s claims that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela pending a transfer of power.

“No, we’re not,” he told KSL earlier this week during a wide-ranging interview when asked about the U.S. running the South American nation. He said it “makes no sense” and that “there’s really no mechanism” for the U.S. to actually run Venezuela.

Congress has ceded power to presidents for decades on various issues, Curtis acknowledged, but argued that lawmakers still push back on the president, even if not publicly. The war powers vote was seen by many as an effort to rein in the military powers Trump has exercised unilaterally in recent months.

“I also believe the founders very well saw the natural tension between the three branches of government and that throughout the history of our country, you’re going to have ebbs and flows in that and that this tension is healthy and that it’s not unintended by the founders,” Curtis said Tuesday.

The Senate resolution, which has yet to be considered in the House, states that Congress has “not declared war upon Venezuela” and “directs the president to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.”

It doesn’t prevent the president from defending the U.S. “from an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack.”

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