Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., believes that he had enough support on both sides of the aisle to pass his war powers resolution, despite an intense pressure campaign from the White House and Republicans to kill the effort. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
There was not a single war powers resolution filed in the Senate during Obama’s time in office, but Kaine did push back on his expansive use of drones in the Middle East.
"I have been as consistent as I can be, because I really got in the way of President Obama when he wanted to use military action in Syria without congressional authorization," Kaine said. "And I told him, you know, ‘You're like my friend. But this is, you know, a basic principle for me.’"
His latest push to curb future military action in Venezuela without congressional approval nearly succeeded in the Senate but ultimately was killed through a rare procedural move coupled with an intense pressure campaign from Trump, his administration and Senate Republican leaders.
Before the first vote, which saw five Republicans peel from their colleagues to advance the resolution, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., contended that Kaine’s latest push "does not reassert Congress’ powers."
"There are Democrats in this chamber who are using the arrest of Nicolás Maduro not to advance American interests, but to attack President Trump," Barrasso said.
KAINE VOWS NEW WAR POWERS FIGHTS AFTER SENATE BLOCKS TRUMP VENEZUELA CHECK
President Donald Trump walks to Marine One for departure from the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Jan. 16, 2026. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Kaine argued there was a stark difference between humanitarian missions and military action in explaining his vote against Cruz’s resolution.
"That was because building a humanitarian pier is not hostilities, right? If that's hostilities, the U.S. going to do tsunami relief is hostilities," Kaine said.
"But you know what we're doing in Venezuela is hostilities," he continued. "It's not building a pier for humanitarian aid. So, that was why I said the definition of hostility should not apply to humanitarian acts, OK? And I firmly believe that, and I’d vote for that under presidents of either party."
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Still, Republicans countered that Kaine’s own war powers resolution was similarly void because there were no active or planned hostilities in the region.
"It's pretty clear, war powers only applies if you've got boots on the ground," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital. "We don't have boots on the ground in those locations that he's talking about. And so I'm not sure what the reasoning is, but it appears to me to be unnecessary, and it certainly does not deserve to be privileged."
Kaine has no intention of relenting on his war powers pursuit while Trump is in office and noted last week that he would file resolution after resolution to take a hammer to the cracks forming in the GOP’s mostly unified resistance against questioning the president’s war authorities.
That decision has not surprised many Republicans.
"I mean, he's a Democrat, so he's going to try and do messaging," Tillis said. "I understand that — we do the same stuff."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kaine-wants-rein-trumps-war-powers-never-did-same-biden-obama