Rubio, Hegseth brief Congress on Venezuela operation, sparking calls for clarity
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top Trump administration officials briefed congressional leaders late Monday on a striking military operation in Venezuela, as lawmakers pressed for a clearer description of next steps and what, if any, direct U.S. involvement will follow. The briefing came after a move that legislators said they learned about only after it had already begun, deepening concerns about how much Congress was consulted in a matter that falls under war powers.
Republican leaders who entered the closed-door session at the Capitol generally said they supported President Donald Trump’s decision to forcibly remove Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Democrats, by contrast, emerged emphasizing that they still had questions about the plan’s direction and about the administration’s intentions for governance in Venezuela. The briefing, which lasted about two hours, took place with officials fielding questions ranging from troop involvement to the role of the Venezuelan leadership that assumed control after Maduro’s removal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after the session that Republicans “don’t expect troops on the ground,” adding that the administration’s objective was not to engage in open-ended military operations. Johnson also argued that Venezuela’s new leadership could not be allowed to “engage in narcoterrorism or the trafficking of drugs into the U.S.” He described the administration’s effort as “demand for a change in behavior” rather than “regime change,” and he said the plan would rely on pressure linked to Venezuela’s oil exports, which he said have been seized.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she left with “many more questions that need to be answered.” Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, raised a specific concern about the potential price to the United States, asking afterward, “What is the cost? How much is this going to cost the United States of America?”
Lawmakers were kept in the dark about the operation’s timing, according to their accounts. The briefing arrived days after the administration carried out the military action, with some leaders saying they had not been informed until after it was underway. Administration officials discussed the operation with a group of lawmakers that included intelligence leadership and top committee chairs and ranking lawmakers on national security panels, in what officials said was intended for the so-called “gang of eight.”
Officials involved in the classified session included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Air Force Gen. Dan Caine and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who brought drug trafficking charges against Maduro. Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he still could not tell reporters who is “actually running Venezuela,” telling them, “I wish I could tell you yes, but I can’t.”
The briefing also drew complaints about who was invited. Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee—Republican chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and ranking Democrat Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois—said they should have been included, arguing they have oversight of the Justice Department under Bondi.
In the background, Schumer had warned earlier that Trump’s action in Venezuela was only the beginning of what he described as a dangerous approach to foreign policy. After the briefing, Schumer said the session, “while extensive and long, posed far more questions than it answered,” and he pointed to Trump’s public interest signals toward other places, including Colombia, Cuba and Greenland.
What comes next in Venezuela remained unclear after the session, as lawmakers discussed calls for elections and uncertainty about the transition. Administration officials described outreach involving Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro ally Delcy Rodríguez, who moved into the role of interim president, and lawmakers questioned how the administration would manage the next political steps inside Venezuela’s leadership structure.
As part of those discussions, lawmakers also referenced how Trump has publicly treated Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who last month won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work seeking a democratic transition in Venezuela. Trump has said Machado lacked the “support” or “respect” to run the country, while Republican lawmakers in the briefing suggested the administration could engage with her leadership.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he plans to speak soon with Machado and called her “very popular if you look at what happened in the last election.” Scott predicted that “She eventually, I think, will be the president of Venezuela,” while also saying the process would be “to get to a democracy” and that it could take time.
Other Republicans voiced sharp skepticism about the legal and constitutional implications of removing a foreign president and how U.S. forces would operate. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a leading critic of Trump’s earlier campaign of boat strikes against suspected drug smugglers, said there are “probably a dozen leaders around the world” who the U.S. could label as violating international or human-rights law, adding, “And we have never gone in and plucked them out the country.” Paul said removing Maduro and what he described as bombing a capital would set a “very bad precedent” and argued the approach “is unconstitutional,” telling reporters there is “no way you can say bombing a capital and removing the president of a foreign country is not an initiation of war.”
MSI previously reported that Venezuela swore in Rodríguez as interim president following the U.S. seizure.Venezuela swears in Rodríguez as interim president, projects independence after US seizure