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McConnell, Paul at odds over effort to place guardrails on Trump's military actions in Venezuela

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to reporters about a war powers resolution regarding Venezuela on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
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AP
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to reporters about a war powers resolution regarding Venezuela on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The US Senate voted Thursday to advance a bipartisan resolution barring President Donald Trump from using further military force “within or against Venezuela” unless he gets prior approval from Congress. The resolution passed without the support of Sen. Mitch McConnell.

In a submitted statement, McConnell said Trump was "well within" the authority granted by the War Powers Act passed more than 50 years ago. The Kentucky senator wrote that the extraction of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro fits the same mold as previous "limited" uses of military force under Republican and Democratic presidents.

McConnell did, however, say he wants more information on Trump's longer-term strategy to stabilize Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere.

Meanwhile, Kentucky's junior senator, Rand Paul, was among the sponsors of the resolution seeking to rein in the president's actions in Venezuela.

"Even those who celebrate the demise of the socialist authoritarian regime in Venezuela, as I do, should give pause to granting the power to initiate war to one man," the senator said.

Despite being a longtime critic of US military involvement overseas, Paul has cheered Maduro's downfall, using it as a chance to level fresh critiques of socialism.

In the days since Maduro's capture, the regime has remained in place with former vice president Delcy Rodríguez being sworn in as interim president. The New York Times reports repression has intensified, with security forces conducting searches to apprehend anyone who supported the "armed attack by the United States."