Rubio defends Venezuela operation without prior congressional approval
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the U.S. operation in Venezuela on Sunday, NBC News anchor Kristen Welker pressed him on why the administration is not seeking congressional approval.
“White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that an attack on mainland Venezuela would require Congressional approval,” Welker told Rubio on “Meet the Press.” “Why hasn’t this happened? And will this happen with any future action the administration plans to take in Venezuela or elsewhere?”
The USA attacked Venezuela on Saturday and captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife as part of “Operation Absolute Resolve”.
“This was not an action that required congressional approval,” Rubio responded. “Actually, since this was not an invasion, it could not need congressional approval. This is not a long-term military operation. This is a very sensitive operation that lasts several hours. It is also a very sensitive operation. It was an operation that required all these conditions to be in the right place at the right time.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller (left) and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, speaks to the press following U.S. military operations in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Republican MP SAID DEMOCRATS WERE ‘EGGS’ ON THEIR FACES AFTER TRUMP’S CAPTURE OF MADURO IN VENEZUELA
Rubio also said that they cannot risk possible leaks.
“You couldn’t risk leaks. We couldn’t risk anything that would compromise the mission, cause people to die, or optionally end the mission. We didn’t even know if the mission was going to happen. How can you report something when you’re not even sure if it’s going to happen? Because the weather conditions had to be right for it to happen,” he added.
Welker pressed Rubio on whether the administration plans to work with Congress.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the signing ceremony of the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the State Department on June 27, 2025 in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
NYC MAYOR CONDEMNS TRUMP’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO AS ‘ACT OF WAR’
“We will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval, otherwise they will receive notice from congress,” Rubio told Welker. “And this is not an operation that requires congressional approval. In fact, this is an operation similar to the one that nearly every president has run for the last 40 years. The difference is that when it comes to Donald Trump, all the Democrats go crazy.”
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will “rule the country” in Venezuela until what he called a “safe, appropriate and reasonable transition.”
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Trump called the role temporary but necessary, saying the United States did not want to let “someone else come in” until conditions stabilized. The goal, he said, is peace, freedom and justice for Venezuelans, including those who have fled to the United States and hope to return home.
“We will govern the country until we can have a safe, appropriate and reasonable transition,” Trump said.
