Vance Breaks a 50-50 Tie to Kill the Senate's Venezuela War Powers Resolution

On January 14, 2026, the Senate defeated a war powers resolution 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The measure would have required the president to obtain congressional authorization before conducting military operations in Venezuela. It came after a January 3 U.S. operation that struck Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and after the Senate had advanced the resolution on a bipartisan basis on January 8.

Five Republicans had supported the resolution the previous week. Two of them, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana, reversed after receiving assurances from administration officials; Hawley said he was satisfied after speaking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Young said he was told there were no American troops in Venezuela and that the administration would seek congressional authorization for major operations. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul held their positions. Trump had said Republicans who backed the measure "should be ashamed."

The resolution failed, leaving no statutory constraint enacted on further U.S. military action in Venezuela.