(MENAFN) US Senate Republicans on Thursday voted down a Democratic-backed bill that would have required congressional approval before President Donald Trump could authorize military strikes against Venezuela. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), failed narrowly, 49-51, after GOP leadership moved to block it.

Kaine criticized the Senate’s inaction, emphasizing that “we should not be going to war without a vote of Congress. The lives of our troops are at stake.” Under the US Constitution, only Congress can formally declare war.

Republicans defended Trump’s ongoing operations in the Caribbean, which involve advanced US military assets targeting alleged drug-smuggling networks. Sen. Jim Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the strikes are intended “to protect thousands of Americans from lethal narcotics.”

Democrats, however, accused the administration of using counter-narcotics as a pretext for potential regime change in Venezuela. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) warned that if regime change is the goal, Congress must have a voice. Critics also highlighted that the strikes—16 operations that have killed at least 66 people—carry legal and ethical questions, with targets executed without formal charges or opportunity for defense.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), questioned the campaign’s cost and duration, suggesting a broader debate on the nature of US involvement may be needed. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) argued, “You cannot bomb your way out of a drug crisis.”

While the measure had little chance of becoming law—Trump would likely have vetoed it—it underscored growing bipartisan concern in Congress over the president’s unilateral use of military force. Kaine concluded that a forced vote was crucial to make lawmakers “stand up and be counted—or not.”

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