Republicans in the Senate blocked a measure on Wednesday that would bar President Trump from using military force against boats in the Caribbean Sea, turning back an effort to check his power to wage war without authorization from Congress.
The vote against bringing up the Democratic resolution was 51 to 48, mostly along party lines. It came less than a week after the U.S. military carried out the fourth strike in the Trump administration’s legally disputed campaign targeting alleged drug runners in the Caribbean.
Senators Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia, both Democrats, tried to force action on the measure, invoking a provision of the 1973 War Powers Act, which requires that resolutions to terminate hostilities be considered under expedited procedures.
They said they were doing so in response to the series of strikes Mr. Trump has carried out since Sept. 2, which the administration says have killed 21 people. The White House has described the strikes as part of a campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels that it accuses of smuggling fentanyl into the United States.
“This is the kind of thing that leads the country unexpectedly and unintentionally into war,” Mr. Schiff said ahead of Wednesday’s vote. He said the resolution also sought to limit the president’s ability to expand his campaign beyond striking boats.
That was a direct response to the White House decision a day earlier to end efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Venezuela, a possible signal that the administration was considering escalating its campaign to stronger measures more directly targeting the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post G.O.P. Blocks Bid to Halt Trump’s Attacks in the Caribbean Sea appeared first on New York Times.
