Cuba civil defense drill [AP=Yonhap News]

A bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from attacking Cuba without congressional approval was blocked by Republicans on April 28 (local time).

According to Reuters, AP, and other news agencies, the Senate rejected the so-called 'Cuban War Powers Resolution' by a vote of 51 to 47, effectively putting the brakes on President Trump's military operations.

This outcome was due to Republicans and Democrats voting along party lines, splitting the chamber.

There were only two Republican and one Democratic 'rebel' votes.

The resolution, spearheaded by the Democrats, viewed Trump's blockade of energy shipments to Cuba as a de facto military operation and sought to prevent war without congressional approval.

Senator Tim Kaine, a co-sponsor of the resolution, argued for its passage, stating that blocking fuel shipments to Cuba, a communist nation, should be considered an act of war.

However, Senator Rick Scott of the Republican Party opposed the Democrats, arguing that a war powers vote was inappropriate because President Trump had not yet deployed troops.

Other Republican senators also opposed the resolution, asserting that the U.S. was not engaged in full-scale hostilities with Cuba and that the energy blockade did not constitute a military action.

Consequently, the Democratic Party's attempt to curb President Trump's military operations that bypassed Congress has once again been thwarted.

Previously, on April 22, an attempt in the Senate to restrict the use of force against Iran by President Trump without congressional approval was defeated in a vote.

The Trump administration launched military operations against Venezuela in early January to oust President Maduro and initiated a Middle East war by attacking Iran in late February alongside Israel; both actions were taken without U.S. congressional approval.

President Trump has been explicitly escalating threats, stating, "Cuba is next."

The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, not the President, but exceptions are made for short-term operations or responses to immediate threats.