U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley will no longer support a war powers resolution curtailing President Donald Trump’s administration from taking military action in Venezuela.
Hawley was one of four Republicans who voted Thursday to advance Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s measure that bars Trump from conducting “hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.” He said last week: “My read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it. That’s why I voted yes on this morning’s Senate resolution.”
But in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio on Wednesday, Hawley said he received assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that there won’t be any U.S. ground troops in Venezuela. He said he also spoke with officials with the Department of Justice and Trump about the issue.
“If the security situation should change, they will abide by the War Powers notification procedures, and they will come back to Congress. That is what I've been asking for,” Hawley said. “Secretary Rubio has said directly to me: ‘There are absolutely no plans or intentions of occupying Venezuela. But if something crazy should happen, they will follow the Constitution and statutes in working through this with Congress.’”
In some respects, Kaine’s resolution is symbolic. Trump will almost certainly veto the measure, and there will not be enough supporters in either the House or Senate to override his objection.
After the Senate vote, Trump put a post on Truth Social stating that Hawley, along with fellow Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Todd Young, should never be elected to public office again. Hawley also received criticism online from supporters of the president.
Asked if his decision amounted to folding under pressure from Trump and his supporters, Hawley replied, “I don't take any offense to the president and his comments.”
“I've got a great relationship with the president, and I talk to him on a regular basis,” Hawley said. “This is how it works. The vote that we took was a vote to advance this to debate. And when the administration came to me and said: ‘Listen, we want to work with you on this.’ That's what I'm here to do. And my concern is ground troops in Venezuela, as I said at the time when I voted to advance the resolution. And they've now made commitments regarding that, and I think have been very forthcoming.”
He added: “If I said no at this point, I mean, it would mean I wasn't really serious about what I said earlier.”
Hawley’s vote for the resolution stoked speculation that he was trying to further separate from Trump to prepare for a presidential run in 2028. He’s broken from the president on several issues, particularly his advocacy for tougher regulations against artificial intelligence and big technology companies.
But Hawley’s hesitancy about the Venezuela invasion, particularly compared to fellow Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, was in line with his general aversion to backing United States military interventions. He opposed the United States providing weapons to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country in 2022 and often aligned with Republicans who wanted to focus more on containing China.
Hawley said he’s aligned with Trump on a lot of issues, including his recent proposals to cap credit card interest rates and prevent Wall Street investors from buying up single-family homes.
He added that in terms of foreign affairs, the United States “should always act in the interest of what will be good for the American people, what will protect the American people, and what will be good for working people.”
“I've lived through Iraq. I mean, all of us have who are of a certain age,” Hawley said. “And I was so disillusioned by what happened there, I want to make sure that that never happens again. And that's why the administration is saying: ‘Listen, we're willing to certify and put in writing, as they've done today, that we do not have ground troops in Venezuela. We are not going to put ground troops into Venezuela, and we'll follow the relevant statutory and constitutional procedures around the conduct of hostilities going forward.’ That’s a big deal, and I think that's important.”
