The Trump administration's campaign of intimidation has succeeded in flipping the votes of two Republican senators who previously supported a bipartisan war powers resolution aimed at blocking further attacks on Venezuela.
In a stunning display of public pressure, President Donald Trump's angry denunciations of the five GOP senators who voted for the measure last week may have had more effect than the White House's legal justifications for the attack. The two senators in question are Josh Hawley and Todd Young, both of whom initially supported advancing the resolution but subsequently changed their votes following intense lobbying from the White House.
According to sources, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote that ultimately led to the defeat of the bill, which would have directed the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
The move is seen as a significant victory for critics who argued that Trump's administration was attempting to bully Congress into abdicating its role in overseeing military actions. "Congress's war powers aren't supposed to rest on trust, they rest on law," said Cavan Kharrazian, a senior adviser at the left-leaning group Demand Progress.
The White House had initially presented a strong case for its position, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the administration would not put ground troops in Venezuela. However, it appears that Trump's aggressive tactics ultimately wore down even the most dedicated opponents of the measure.
The development is seen as a major blow to the Trump administration's efforts to expand its military presence in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America. It comes at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela are running high, with both sides trading insults and accusations over issues such as election interference and human rights abuses.
For now, it remains to be seen how the Trump administration will proceed in light of this latest development. However one thing is certain: the White House's efforts to bully Congress into submission have failed, at least for now.
In a stunning display of public pressure, President Donald Trump's angry denunciations of the five GOP senators who voted for the measure last week may have had more effect than the White House's legal justifications for the attack. The two senators in question are Josh Hawley and Todd Young, both of whom initially supported advancing the resolution but subsequently changed their votes following intense lobbying from the White House.
According to sources, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote that ultimately led to the defeat of the bill, which would have directed the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
The move is seen as a significant victory for critics who argued that Trump's administration was attempting to bully Congress into abdicating its role in overseeing military actions. "Congress's war powers aren't supposed to rest on trust, they rest on law," said Cavan Kharrazian, a senior adviser at the left-leaning group Demand Progress.
The White House had initially presented a strong case for its position, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the administration would not put ground troops in Venezuela. However, it appears that Trump's aggressive tactics ultimately wore down even the most dedicated opponents of the measure.
The development is seen as a major blow to the Trump administration's efforts to expand its military presence in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America. It comes at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela are running high, with both sides trading insults and accusations over issues such as election interference and human rights abuses.
For now, it remains to be seen how the Trump administration will proceed in light of this latest development. However one thing is certain: the White House's efforts to bully Congress into submission have failed, at least for now.
I'm so done with this whole thing... The idea that a president can just intimidate senators into doing what they want is just crazy 
. I mean, come on, Trump thinks he can just yell and scream until everyone else does what he wants? Newsflash, dude: being the President doesn't give you a free pass to bully people 
. And honestly, it's kinda sad that two senators felt like they had no choice but to cave under all this pressure 
. Can't we just have honest, civil discussions about policy and stuff? 
This isn't exactly a shocker. The dude's been known to throw some pretty intense tantrums when things don't go his way. Like, who needs 'law' when you've got a combo of public shaming and VP-level pressure? 
. It's like they got cold feet or something, but then again, maybe it was just a clever move by the White House to get rid of that pesky war powers resolution 
. And what really gets me is how they used public pressure to get those senators to change their minds 
. I mean, didn't we already see this play out with the whole Ukraine scandal? It's like, one thing leads to another, and before you know it, our leaders are doing whatever it takes to get ahead 
. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the White House's tactics, but... just keep in mind that sometimes things aren't always as they seem 
.
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. It's supposed to be a check and balance system, not a dictatorship 
.
It's a complex issue, but one thing is for sure - this development will be closely watched to see how it plays out in the long run.
. It's like, come on! Can't he see that Congress is supposed to be independent and make its own decisions? Not just do what the President wants because they're afraid of being targeted 
. I mean, come on, using public pressure like that? It's not exactly subtle, you know? 
Either way, it's a big win for those who were against this whole thing and I'm all about seeing Congress do its job 
.
And what about all those folks who supported this war powers resolution in the first place? Do they just get erased from history because Trump said so? 
. But honestly, it feels like we're living in a game of chicken where no one wants to make a move because they're waiting for someone else to blink. The US-Venezuela situation is getting more complicated by the day...