Murkowski and Sullivan split on Trump’s plans for further military action in Venezuela

Smoke is seen over buildings after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard on Jan. 3, 2026, in Caracas, Venezuela. According to some reports, explosions were heard in Caracas and other cities near airports and military bases around 2 a.m. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

Alaska’s two U.S. Senators are split on a resolution intended to halt U.S. military action in Venezuela without the approval of Congress.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined four other Republicans and the Senate’s Democrats in a 52-47 procedural vote that advances the resolution. If adopted, the resolution would direct the “removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, was among the 47 senators, all Republicans, who voted against moving the resolution from committee and to the Senate floor. 

Both Murkowski and Sullivan supported President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an attack on Venezuela that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The country’s interior minister said Wednesday that 100 people were killed in the attack. Seven U.S. soldiers were injured, according to the Defense Department. Maduro and his wife appeared in U.S. court on Monday.

Since the attack, Trump has said he intends to take over the nation’s oil industry and direct Venezuela’s government.

In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Trump said the only limit on his international powers is his “own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

In a statement after Thursday’s vote, Murkowski said that only congressional authorization could permit American troops to remain in Venezuela.

She reiterated her support for the raid that removed Maduro, saying “Venezuela — along with the world — is better off without him in power.”

Many nations officially view Maduro as a dictator.

But Murkowski also said that the United States must have a “clear and achievable end goal” for the country after Maduro’s departure.

“Any future use of force or significant policy shift in Venezuela must include robust congressional oversight and authorization, consistent with our constitutional responsibilities, the rule of law, and a clear assessment of the benefits to the American people,” Murkowski said.

In December, Sullivan told the Huffington Post that he didn’t think having troops on the ground in Venezuela was a good idea.

If the resolution were enacted, the United States would be unable to legally have troops on the ground without congressional approval.  

He did not have a public comment on his vote Thursday, and a spokesperson referred to a statement he made Jan. 3, after the attack that ended with Maduro’s capture.

“The lessons learned from what took place after the United States deposed another Latin American indicted drug lord — Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1989 — could prove useful, as could the painful and difficult lessons learned after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003,” that statement said in part.

• James Brooks is a longtime Alaska reporter, having previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.