GOP rejects reining in Trump on Venezuela, with only Massie and Bacon defecting

House Republicans narrowly blocked an effort to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers, the first such vote in the lower chamber since the administration captured former Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro.

The resolution, which failed in a tie vote, 215-215, was cosponsored by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Joaquin Castro (D-TX). Only two Republicans, Massie and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), supported the measure with all Democrats. 

“Every member of this house has a duty to uphold the Constitution’s systems of checks and balances by exercising its Article 1 powers entrusted to us,” Massie said. “The executive’s military exercises that captured the leader of Venezuela represents one of the most blatant usurpations of congressional authority we have seen in modern times. If we ignore