WASHINGTON—In a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation and desperate email etiquette enforcement, the United States Senate voted Thursday to require President Donald Trump to notify Congress before embarking on spontaneous military adventures in Venezuela—or at least send a Slack message first.
The War Powers Resolution, passed 52-47, mandates that future invasions, coups, or particularly aggressive diplomatic tweets related to Venezuela require written authorization, a formal congressional vote, and ideally a 24-hour RSVP. The bill follows last weekend’s surprise raid to capture President Nicolás Maduro, which allegedly took place while Congress was still catching up on the group chat.
“We’re not saying the president can’t topple governments on a whim,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, frantically scrolling through missed notifications. “We just want a little calendar invite, maybe a Google Doc outlining which country he’s about to liberate.”
Senator Rand Paul, who voted in favor, explained: “Look, if the president wants to play Battleship with actual countries, the least he can do is let us know which pieces he’s moving. I hate waking up to breaking news that we’re at war with another equatorial nation.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer assured reporters the measure was not an attack on executive power, but simply Congress embracing its time-honored tradition of being informed shortly after the bombs start falling. “This isn’t the 19th century,” Schumer said. “It’s just common courtesy to warn us if you’re planning to bring democracy via airstrike.”
The Trump administration criticized the resolution as “unreasonably burdensome,” noting that filling out paperwork would “significantly delay the liberation process.”

