Vance breaks Senate tie, votes to block Venezuela war powers resolution
Published Wed, Jan 14 2026
11:11 AM EST
Updated 37 Min Ago
Garrett Downs@in/garrett-downs-28528513b/@_garrettdownsWATCH LIVEKey Points
- Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday cast a tie-breaking vote, blocking a resolution intended to halt President Donald Trump from using the military in Venezuela.
- Vance's vote for the point of order on the measure, known as a war powers resolution, signals that Trump was able to successfully lobby enough Republican senators to switch their votes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the day of a briefing for the House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 7, 2026.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday cast a tie-breaking vote, blocking a resolution intended to halt President Donald Trump from using the military in Venezuela.
Vance's vote for the point of order on the measure, known as a war powers resolution, signals that Trump was able to successfully lobby enough Republican senators to switch their votes. Last week, five Republican senators joined with Democrats to advance the resolution â a stunning defeat for Trump after he ordered a strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
In the days since, the White House engaged in a furious lobbying effort to block the measure.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., one of the senators who voted for the measure, flipped his vote, saying earlier this week that the administration had been persuasive in addressing his concerns.
"The interaction has been really positive," Hawley said in an interview with reporters earlier this week.
Trump himself had been clear: He demanded that the Senate defeat the measure. After it advanced last week, he said the group of five that voted to advance it should never be elected to office again.