Screens cracked in Congress on Saturday as news spread that President Donald Trump had fired Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Republicans largely praised the military operation, while Democrats condemned the president’s actions and questioned their legality.
After months of pressure on President Maduro, President Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States supported a “massive attack” against the country and its leader. President Maduro was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, and taken to the United States.
“President Trump has rejected the constitutionally required armed conflict authorization process because his administration knows that the American people overwhelmingly reject the risk of drawing our country back into war,” Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said in a post on X on Saturday.
The Constitution gives Congress the primary authority to declare war. The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973 in response to the Vietnam War, limits the president’s ability to take unilateral military action and requires the president to consult with Congress before sending troops.
But lawmakers said the president had not sought approval or briefed Congress on the plan.
President Trump is scheduled to meet with House Republicans at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, MS NOW reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Trump will reportedly attend the rally, but it is unclear how long he will stay, MS Now reported.
Lawmakers were already scheduled to gather at the center for a policy forum to discuss the second half of the 119th Congress, according to an invitation obtained by MS NOW.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) said in a statement that the decision to take military action in Venezuela without Congressional approval was “reckless.”
“The administration has assured me on three separate occasions that it has no intention of pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela. Clearly, they are not being honest with the American people,” Schumer said.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D.N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told MSNOW, “There was no press conference, no heads-up. At this point, all the information I receive is from the press.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also supported Maduro’s detention, but said Congress was given no advance warning.
“That’s probably one of the reasons it hasn’t leaked in the last four days,” Cotton said in an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Saturday. “Congress is not told when the FBI arrests drug traffickers or cybercriminals here in the United States, and Congress should not be told when the executive branch carries out arrests of indicted individuals.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X on Saturday that Maduro and his wife were indicted in the Southern District of New York.
They are charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of weapons and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States, according to Bondi’s post.
President Trump appeared to dismiss concerns about the constitutionality of the attack in a phone interview with “Fox & Friends.”
“Democrats are probably going to get a shot at it… all they’re going to do is complain,” Trump said. “They should say, ‘Great job.’ They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, that might not be constitutional.’ You know, the same old stuff we’ve been hearing for years and years. ”
The president also said the attack was originally planned for earlier in the week but was postponed due to weather. He said no U.S. soldiers were killed in the operation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference Saturday at Mar-a-Lago that lawmakers were called immediately after the mission, which he called “primarily a law enforcement function.” Notifying members before taking action could have jeopardized the mission, he said.
“This wasn’t the kind of mission that you could notify Congress about. It was a trigger-based mission… It wasn’t the kind of mission where you could simply call people and say, ‘We might do this at some point in the next 15 days,'” Rubio said.
“Congress has a tendency to leak, and that’s not good. If it had leaked…we probably would have had a very different outcome,” Trump said at a news conference.
“Congress is going to be leaked. We don’t want leakers,” he continued.
The Trump administration has increased pressure on the Venezuelan government in recent months, claiming that Maduro is the head of a narco-terrorist organization. He recently ordered a complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of the country and has targeted suspected Venezuelan drug smugglers.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in a statement that he had spoken with Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “in the past few hours,” and that the White House was working to schedule a meeting with lawmakers when Congress reconvenes next week.
“President Trump puts American lives first and is succeeding where other countries have failed. Under President Trump’s leadership, America will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country,” Johnson said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the operation was “an important first step toward bringing (Maduro) to justice for the drug crimes he is being charged with in the United States.” Neither Thune nor Johnson responded to requests for comment through their offices about whether Republican leaders were briefed before the attack.
“I spoke with Secretary Rubio early this morning, and I look forward to hearing further briefing from the administration on this operation as part of a comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week,” Thune said.
When news of the Venezuela attack broke early Saturday morning, there was at least some skepticism among Republicans.
“I look forward to learning what is constitutionally justified in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization to use force,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X.
A few hours later, after a phone call with Rubio, Lee changed his tune.
“This action is likely within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. military personnel from actual or threatened attack,” Lee said in a subsequent post.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a former Trump ally who has fallen out with the president and will resign from Congress on January 5, was part of a small group within the Republican Party questioning the attacks.
“It’s OK for America to invade militarily, bomb and arrest foreign leaders, but Russia is evil for invading Ukraine and China is evil for invading Taiwan? Should we just do that? (I’m not supporting Russia or China),” Greene posted on X on Saturday.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a frequent Trump supporter, also questioned the constitutionality of Trump’s removal of Maduro.
“If this action were constitutionally sound, the Attorney General would not tweet that he had arrested the president of a sovereign nation and his wife for possessing a firearm in violation of the United States Firearms Act of 1934,” Massey wrote on X.
Democrats, meanwhile, demanded more answers and questioned what would happen next in Venezuela, which Maduro has ruled for more than a decade.
“Mr. Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, but I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without Congressional approval, nor have I heard about his next-day strategy or how he will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos,” Rep. Jim Hymes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement.
“Secretary Rubio has repeatedly denied to Congress that the administration intends to force regime change in Venezuela. The administration must immediately brief Congress on its plans to ensure stability in the region,” Himes continued.
House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also said in a statement Saturday that President Trump did not properly notify Congress of military action. He questioned how many U.S. troops would remain on the ground and who would run Venezuela now that President Maduro has stepped down.
“According to the Constitution, the Framers gave Congress, as the branch of government closest to the American people, the sole authority to declare war,” Jeffries said. “The House and Senate must be immediately briefed and compelling evidence explaining and justifying this unauthorized use of force must be immediately presented.”
