Democrats hope Josh Hawley joins opposition to further Venezuela action

Joe Holleman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Jan 6, 2026

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Imminent action this week in the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan war powers resolution — which aims to block President Donald Trump from engaging in further hostilities against Venezuela — has thrown a spotlight on Missouri's Josh Hawley.

The Hill reported Sunday that the resolution, introduced in early December, is "privileged," which means Senate GOP leaders cannot stop it from coming to the floor.

Hawley, Missouri's senior GOP senator, was named in the article as one Republican who likely will be courted by Democrats to break with the party line and vote for the limits.

Hawley's office did not respond to Post-Dispatch requests for comment on Monday.

Senate Democrats need to gain votes from four GOP senators to pass the resolution. One of those votes almost certainly will come from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who is co-sponsoring the resolution. Paul has consistently espoused opposition to foreign intervention by the U.S.

That means Democrats would need support from three more Republicans — and that's where Hawley's name pops up, along with U.S. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Hawley, who has parted ways at times with the Trump administration, has previously expressed misgivings about U.S.-led military engagements in foreign countries, specifically on aid to Ukraine.

The Senate resolution needs only a simple majority to pass. It would then have to be approved by the U.S. House.

On Saturday, U.S. forces attacked Venezuela and arrested President Nicolás Maduro, who is being held in New York on charges of narco-terrorism, as well as drug and weapons charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, Missouri's junior GOP senator, already has appeared on national news shows to express his strong support for the action in Venezuela.

"The days of narco-terrorist thugs and tinpot third-world dictators down south pushing us around is over," Schmitt said in an interview Sunday on Fox News. "We are a superpower. This is our hemisphere. And we're going to start acting like it again."

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