Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the mission “reckless,” noting he had been assured on three prior occasions that the administration was not pursuing regime change in Venezuela. Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he learned of the raid through media reports, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded an immediate classified briefing to explain the legal grounds and clarify how many U.S. personnel remain in the South American nation.
Republican leaders took a different view. House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Trump for “putting American lives first” and said the White House is arranging member briefings when Congress returns next week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the action as “an important first step” toward bringing the Venezuelan leader to justice for alleged drug crimes.
Still, some GOP lawmakers expressed initial caution. Senator Mike Lee questioned the constitutional basis for the strike but later stated, after a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that the mission likely fell under the president’s Article II authority to protect U.S. personnel from imminent threat. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene asked whether Washington’s actions were consistent with its criticism of Russian and Chinese military aggression, while Representative Thomas Massie argued that arresting a foreign head of state without congressional consent undermines separation of powers.
During a “Fox & Friends” phone interview, Trump dismissed concerns about bypassing Congress and said lawmakers “should say, ‘great job,’” rather than raise constitutional objections. He added that the strike had been postponed earlier in the week because of weather conditions.
Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Rubio framed the mission as primarily a law-enforcement action rather than a combat deployment. He explained that alerting Congress beforehand could have jeopardized operational security and stressed that key lawmakers were contacted “immediately after” completion of the raid. Rubio contended that Maduro’s detention was consistent with long-standing U.S. efforts to disrupt what Washington labels a Venezuelan narcotics network.
The administration in recent months intensified pressure on Caracas, imposing a maritime blockade on sanctioned oil tankers and targeting vessels it said were transporting illicit drugs. Saturday’s capture marks the first time a sitting foreign president has been brought to the United States to face criminal prosecution since Panama’s Manuel Noriega was seized in 1989.
Trump is scheduled to attend a policy forum with House Republicans at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, where the operation and its aftermath are expected to dominate discussion. The gathering had been planned to chart legislative priorities for the remainder of the 119th Congress.
Democratic lawmakers also want clarity on what comes next for Venezuela, a country Maduro had governed for more than a decade. Representative Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he has seen no evidence that Maduro posed a threat requiring unilateral military intervention and warned of potential instability “the day after” the removal.
Questions also linger about the duration and scope of any U.S. military presence in Venezuela. While administration officials have not disclosed troop numbers, critics worry that an extended deployment could draw the United States into a broader conflict.
The White House maintains that the strike was a targeted action aimed at apprehending individuals under U.S. indictment, not an open-ended operation. Whether Congress accepts that rationale—or demands a formal Authorization for Use of Military Force—could shape legislative debate in the days ahead.
Crédito da imagem: Reuters
