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A majority of House Republicans rallied Thursday to defeat a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have prevented President Donald Trump from taking future military action in Venezuela.
The House GOP was able to defeat the measure with its narrow majority with a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the White House.
The resolution failed in a 215-215 vote, falling short of the majority needed to pass. Only two Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., voted for the package.
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The White House strongly criticized the law when asked by Fox News Digital on Thursday. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Speaker Johnson held up the vote for more than 20 minutes, prompting Republicans to vote against the resolution. Finally another Republican latecomer, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Tx., came to the chamber, broke ground and killed the measure.
“Close the vote!” Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., shouted as Republicans struggled to bolster their opposition. “This is true s—!”
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
The resolution directs Trump to withdraw troops from Venezuela and introduce a similar effort in the Senate aimed at preventing the administration from taking future military action in the country.
Administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, say there are currently no US troops in Venezuela, even though Trump has ordered a military blockade off the country’s coast.
The White House strongly criticized the law when asked by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“It is shameful that these members of Congress want to usurp the authority of the executive director to take important steps to strengthen our national security and stop drugs and criminals from entering our country,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
Before Thursday’s vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he expected Republicans to band together to defeat the resolution.
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“I don’t think we’re going to have a break from that,” Johnson told Fox News Digital that morning.
“We are the ultimate power, and we have to allow the president to use what is his right under the Constitution,” Johnson said, referring to Trump’s role as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. “I don’t think we need to get in the way of that.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to reporters as the House debates a continuing resolution to restore federal funding in Washington, Nov. 12, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
McGovern-Massie’s decision comes after Trump ordered the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month in what the administration described as a poorly coordinated law enforcement effort.
The White House argues that the US simply arrests a person suspected of a crime. Maduro and his wife were indicted in a New York court on suspicion of drug trafficking in the US
“The entire Trump administration orchestrated the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, who was leading an international drug-trafficking terrorist organization and fugitive from American justice,” Kelly said.
Democrats such as McGovern have pushed back against the GOP’s revelations, raising concerns that the US could carry out more military operations in Venezuela.
But the bipartisan House duo’s decision differed slightly from similar legislation by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also faces Trump’s power in Venezuela.
The House version would require the Trump administration to remove any US troops from the region, despite officials telling lawmakers there are no boots in the country following the strikes and Maduro’s capture.
The chances that Massie and McGovern’s resolution will survive the Senate are made more difficult given that lawmakers in the upper house have already killed Kaine’s campaign to require congressional approval for any future military operations in the region.
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Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after arriving by helicopter in Manhattan, escorted by armed federal agents into an armored car en route to federal court in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026, New York City. (Photos by XNY/Star Max/GC via Getty Images)
Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., turned their votes to kill the resolution after assurances and assurances from the administration, especially Rubio, that there are no boots on the ground in the country.
Regardless, Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to lay out the administration’s plan for the region. His appearance also comes amid uncertainty over Trump’s plans with Greenland.
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Rubio has already mocked that plan after one of several separate briefings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Currently, the administration is considering a three-pronged plan in the region that focuses on sustainability, recovery and change.
