Craven cowards

Five Senate Republicans broke ranks, voted with Democrats and advanced a war powers resolution aimed at reining in U.S. military action in Venezuela. The measure was specifically crafted to “direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.”

The bipartisan breakthrough was, however, on a procedural vote. There was still one more Senate vote necessary to approve the resolution. If the 53 members who backed the measure last week stuck together, it would move to the House for consideration.

That didn’t happen.

  MS Now

When five Senate Republicans voted with Democrats last week to advance a resolution to restrict President Donald Trump’s military authority in Venezuela, it looked like a significant rebuke of the administration.

Now, a week later — after two Republicans flipped their votes following intense lobbying from Trump and the White House — it looks like the latest example of GOP lawmakers bowing to the president.

  MS Now

Gee, who were the two wimps?

The turn of events came to fruition after Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — two of the GOP senators who voted to advance the measure last week — sided with Republicans on a point of order to rule the war powers resolution ineligible for a fast-track vote.

[...]

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans approved a procedural gambit to block the Venezuela war powers resolution from getting a final vote, stopping the bipartisan effort dead in its tracks after it appeared headed for success.

The vote was 51-50, after Vice President JD Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday night to break a tie.

[...]

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted to advance the resolution last week, still sided with Democrats against the procedural maneuver.

[...]

Hawley and Young said their decisions came down to assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the U.S. did not have troops on the ground in Venezuela and would not send any without notifying Congress.

Oh, for crying out loud.

In a letter written to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and obtained by MS NOW, Rubio said the deployment of active-duty service members in Caracas “will be undertaken consistent with the Constitution of the United States and we will transmit written notifications.” He echoed that sentiment in a communication to Young.

He didn't even actually say they'd consult Congress. Just that they'd notify them. And worse, yet...

“Should the President determine that he intends to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operations in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting),” Rubio wrote.

"Circumstances permitting."

Last week, Hawley said he voted to advance the resolution because “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.” But after Rubio’s assurances, Hawley changed his mind.

Assurances? What assurances?

“The secretary also told me directly that the administration will not put ground troops into Venezuela,” Hawley said. “They do not seek to occupy Venezuela, but his commitment to abide by the War Powers notification procedures and also the Constitution is directly responsive to my concerns, so I’m inclined to take yes for an answer.”

We all were surprised that Hawley voted with the Dems on this in the first place. Why'd he bother? Trying to reform his reputation as a craven coward? If so, I don't think it worked.

Young expressed a similar sentiment, but he also pointed to the unlikely effort of the war powers resolution ever being signed into law: With a presidential veto all but certain should the measure land on Trump’s desk, the fight was futile.

Perhaps even more craven than Hawley.

“Those who understand how Congress works, the good and the bad and ugly, understand that votes like this, in the end, are communications exercises,” Young said. “They’re important communications exercises, but unless you can secure sufficient votes, not only to pass the United States Senate, but to get out of the House, which is highly questionable, right, and then to override what was an inevitable presidential veto, which is impossible, no one can tell me how we get there, I had to accept that this was all a communications exercise.”

And you have communicated that you're a total pouff.

[T]he reversals from Hawley and Young came after Trump deployed an intense pressure campaign against the five Republican senators who voted to advance the resolution.

Shortly after the Senate voted to open debate on the resolution, Trump unleashed his anger on social media, saying Republicans should be “ashamed” of the quintet and declaring that they “should never be elected to office again.”

And that's the real reason Hawley and Young went scuttling back under cover.

The president also made his frustrations known directly: He called the five Senate Republicans who voted to advance the war powers resolution, according to a source familiar with the call who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversation. The source said the president, who was described as being “very upset, angry, yelling,” berated “more than one senator.”

Then, serious kudos to Paul, Murkowski, and Collins. Collins!

Seems like Susaan Collins is smart enough to know she's in danger of losing her next election.

Hawley recognized that lobbying when explaining his stance, but said it wasn’t coercion.

“I didn’t feel pressure,” Hawley said. “But I felt a lot of outreach on substance.”

LOLOLOL. Outreach on substance. That's what we're calling Trump's temper tantrums now.

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was the first to fold, announcing his reversal on Wednesday morning, and Indiana’s Todd Young soon followed suit.

[...]

On Tuesday, during remarks in Detroit, Trump continued to target the senators who’d disappointed him, slamming Paul as a “stone-cold loser” and describing Collins and Murkowski as “disasters.”

  MS Now