The U.S. Senate, on Thursday, January 8, 2026, took a significant step towards reining in President Donald Trump's military actions in Venezuela by advancing a resolution under the 1973 War Powers Act. The procedural vote, which passed 52-47, saw a rare bipartisan alignment as five Republican senators — Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, and Todd Young — sided with Democrats to move the legislation forward. This vote followed a dramatic escalation in U.S. engagement, including air and naval strikes and the secretive capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, which many lawmakers felt crossed into an act of war without explicit congressional authorization. The Democratic-led resolution aims to bar further U.S. hostilities against Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific congressional approval. President Trump quickly lashed out at the Republican senators who supported the measure, publicly criticizing their 'stupidity' on his Truth Social platform and stating they 'should never be elected to office again.' While the vote on final passage in the Senate is now largely viewed as a formality, the resolution faces considerable hurdles in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a likely veto from President Trump, making its eventual enactment into law uncertain. This legislative effort underscores a renewed assertion of Congress's constitutional authority to declare war, challenging the executive branch's power to conduct unilateral military operations.