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<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump phoned Sen. Susan Collins and angrily criticized her for voting in favor of a war powers measure following the U.S. military operation in Venezuela. The call came after the United States invaded Venezuela on Saturday and detained President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, five Republicans joined all 47 Democratic senators in voting to advance legislation that would require the president to obtain congressional approval before taking further military action against Venezuela.<\/p>\n
The Republicans who backed the measure were Collins, Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young. The Hill\u00a0reported\u00a0Friday that Collins received a tense phone call from Trump following the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called her and then basically read her the riot act,\u201d one Republican senator told the outlet, describing the call as a \u201cprofanity-laced rant.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second source said Trump told Collins the resolution would limit the president\u2019s authority. \u201cHe was very mad about the vote,\u201d the source said. A spokesperson for Collins confirmed the call occurred but declined to comment on its contents.<\/p>\n
Trump publicly criticized Collins and the four other Republicans earlier Thursday in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President\u2019s Authority as Commander in Chief,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any event, and despite their \u2018stupidity,\u2019 the War Powers Act is Unconstitutional, totally violating Article II of the Constitution, as all Presidents, and their Departments of Justice, have determined before me,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
During his second term, Trump has leveraged the struggle against illegal drug trafficking to oust Venezuela\u2019s president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, and to intimidate other nations in the region with the prospect of military intervention.<\/p>\n
Trump added that \u201ca more important Senate Vote will be taking place next week on this very subject.\u201d Collins is seeking re-election this year, but Maine is very purple and she has survived strong challenges from Democrats several times.<\/p>\n
The Senate, meanwhile, confirmed journalist Sara Carter to manage federal drug policy with a 52-48 vote on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Trump praised Carter\u2019s reporting on the illicit drug trade last March.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy work in the frontlines wasn\u2019t just about telling stories, it was about mapping the enemy,\u201d\u00a0Carter told senators in the Judiciary Committee\u00a0during her September nomination hearing. She touted her work covering drug cartels and said Trump\u2019s border crackdown reduced the flow of drugs like fentanyl into the United States. That crackdown also reduced the flow of U.S. weapons into Mexico, she argued, which often end up in cartels\u2019 possession.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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