First congressional briefing on Trump’s Venezuela operation splits lawmakers
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A select group of lawmakers received their first closed briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday following the Trump administration’s weekend military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro; this meeting quickly split along political lines.
At the nearly two-hour meeting deep in Congress, senior administration officials gave a classified briefing to congressional leaders and the chairmen and senior members of the armed services, intelligence and foreign relations committees.
None of the Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, spoke after the meeting.
FETTERMAN DEFENDS TRUMP’S VENEZUELA MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST THE ETHICS OF HIS DEMOCRATIC FRIENDS
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., leaves the chamber to speak with reporters after the final vote to end the longest government shutdown in history at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
But a handful of lawmakers did so, and questions remained about who exactly was running Venezuela and what exactly U.S. involvement in the country would be if other similar operations were conducted around the world.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said there was no expectation that the United States would be on the ground and there would be no “direct intervention in any other way beyond compelling the interim government to do so.”
“We are not at war,” Johnson said. “We do not have US armed forces in Venezuela and we are not invading that country.”
“This is not a regime change,” he continued. “This is a request for a change of behavior from the regime. The interim government is now on its feet and we hope they can correct their actions.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fl., echoed Johnson and reiterated that the operation was “a dedicated law enforcement function that removes a significant obstacle to the Venezuelan people planning for a new future.”
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY PRAISES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF MADURO AS A ‘MASTER CLASS IN PRECISION’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Trump administration in January for its attack on Venezuela and the capture of its leader Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking conspiracy charges. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
He did not expect further military intervention in the country from the Trump administration.
“These are made before breakfast,” Mast said. “They don’t do long-duration combat operations.”
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) countered that the lengthy meeting “raised many more questions than have ever been answered.”
A growing point of contention among lawmakers is how directly involved the United States will be in the process, given that Trump has said the United States will govern the country until a proper transition of power occurs.
Schumer said the plan presented behind closed doors or with the US running Venezuela was “vague, wishful thinking and unsatisfactory.”
“I haven’t received any assurances that we won’t try to do the same thing in other countries,” he said. “And the bottom line is that when the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation-building, it always hurts the United States. I left the briefing with the feeling that this will happen again.”
FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO BRING US OIL COMPANIES BACK TO VENEZUELA
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., questions Russ Vought (not pictured) during a Senate hearing in Washington in 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Schumer, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Later in the week, he plans to force a vote on a war powers resolution that, if passed, would require the administration to seek congressional approval before taking further military action in Venezuela.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said he was pleased with the briefing and that “it was a very thorough discussion.”
Lawmakers will take another bite at the apple later in the week when Trump officials return to Congress to give lawmakers a full briefing on Operation Absolute Resolve.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, praised the military for a “fantastic execution” of the mission and noted that the region is better off without Maduro.
But like Schumer, he was still searching for the next step.
“The question as policymakers is what happens the next day,” Warner said.
