Senate Blocks Vote On Venezuela War Powers Because No Boots Are Actually on Venezuelan Dirt

KEY POINTS

•On January 13, 2026, Senate Republicans successfully blocked the final vote on a war powers resolution targeting Venezuela.
•The close procedural vote of 51-50 saw Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins siding with Democrats to oppose their party.
•Senators Josh Hawley and Todd Young changed their votes after promises from Marco Rubio and assurances of future briefings.

In a thrilling display of political hide-and-seek on January 13, 2026, Senate Republicans gobsmacked everyone by blocking a war powers vote aimed at restricting future military action in Venezuela—largely because there are no actual US troops there. The nail-biter ended 51-50 with Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins double-crossing Democrats, and Vice President Vance stepping in to break the tie like a referee in a soap opera. Senators Josh Hawley and Todd Young heroically flipped their vote after Marco Rubio promised committee cameos and countless reassuring texts. Nobody could find actual boots on Venezuela soil. Policy by text message never looked so reassuring.

Share the Story

(1 of 3)

Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Nothing screams US democracy more than scrapping votes because the war’s imaginary and rubber-stamped reassurance comes via Marco Rubio's text marathon.

169/280 charactersReady to post