{"id":14472,"date":"2026-01-06T15:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14472"},"modified":"2026-01-06T15:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:27:07","slug":"venezuela-briefing-leaves-lawmakers-questioning-whats-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14472","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela briefing leaves lawmakers questioning what\u2019s ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Top Senate and House lawmakers from both parties emerged from a classified briefing given by President Trump\u2018s most senior officials with little clarity on the future of Venezuela, days after the president declared the U.S. would \u201crun\u201d the country after apprehending its president, Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has given a green light for Venezuela\u2019s Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez to remain in the role of president for now, although lawmakers said the goal is eventually to have elections. Rodriguez is a close ally of Maduro and stalwart of the Venezuelan socialist movement popularized by Hugo Chavez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is still developing, this has all just happened within the last couple of days,\u201d House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded when asked if the briefers indicated they wanted a change in leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more questions, ultimately about how it resolves, probably, than answers at the moment, but that\u2019s to be expected,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, Johnson said he expects an election to be called in Venezuela \u201cin short order,\u201d but added that \u201csome of these things are still being determined.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump on Monday night ruled out elections taking place in Venezuela within that country\u2019s constitutionally-mandated 30-day period, in an interview with NBC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to fix the country first. You can\u2019t have an election,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way the people could even vote. No, it\u2019s going to take a period of time. We have \u2014 we have to nurse the country back to health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described the briefing as \u201cextensive and long\u201d with \u201cfar more questions than it ever answered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The briefing was carried out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Attorney General Pam Bondi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The briefing was provided to the so-called Gang of Eight, who are the House and Senate leaders of both parties and heads of intelligence committees, as well as the heads of the foreign affairs and armed services committees in both chambers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said that while Rodr\u00edguez is not the preferred ally of the U.S., it is necessary to keep her in place to prevent a power vacuum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat you have in place is somebody that, while they wouldn\u2019t be the preference, they are in place, they are in communication with the United States of America\u2026 they know how to answer the phones and they are also well aware that the Department of Navy is directly off the shores protecting the American people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said there\u2019s \u201cno clarity\u201d when it comes to putting troops on the ground in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has the option of putting troops on the ground,\u201d Meeks told reporters, referring to Trump. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to take anything off the table. This is what the president has said. So I don\u2019t think that there was anything that was said differently.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeks praised the military for its execution, even though he disagreed with the orders they were given, but voiced concerns about the U.S. government\u2019s next move in Caracas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClearly, it\u2019s not about democracy. I don\u2019t think, I think, clearly, it\u2019s about \u2014 a lot about oil.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said \u201cthere are still questions that need to be answered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked if she thinks the administration is considering similar actions against other countries, the New Hampshire senator said she did not think \u201cthat\u2019s clear yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Schumer said he did not receive any assurances that the Trump administration would not try to do the same operation in other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the United States engages in this kind of regime change, so-called nation-building, it always hurts the United States,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their uncertainty about what\u2019s next for Venezuela, Republicans defended Trump\u2019s decision to use the military for what the administration is framing as a \u201claw enforcement operation\u201d and put Maduro on trial for drug trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith regard to war powers and the compliance with federal law, we are not at war,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cWe do not have U.S. armed forces in Venezuela and we are not occupying the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee with jurisdiction over the Department of Justice, protested that he was excluded from the briefing, in a statement alongside the ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe administration\u2019s refusal to acknowledge our Committee\u2019s indisputable jurisdiction in this matter is unacceptable and we are following up to ensure the Committee receives warranted information regarding Maduro\u2019s arrest,\u201d the lawmakers wrote in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats have complained that Congress was not notified of the operation in Venezuela until after the fact. However, both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said before the hearing that the situation was handled appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the briefing, Thune called it a \u201cvery comprehensive discussion.\u201d On the possibility of U.S. troops coming into Venezuela, Thune said he does not have \u201cany sense that that\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters ahead of the briefing that he would \u201cprobably\u201d hold a hearing on Venezuela in the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with NBC News, Trump said Rubio, Hegseth, Stephen Miller and Vance would oversee U.S. involvement in Venezuela. But he said \u201cme\u201d when asked who is ultimately in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump said he is prepared to authorize a second military operation if Rodriguez does not cooperate with the U.S. government, but thinks that won\u2019t be necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re prepared to do it,\u201d the president said. \u201cWe anticipated doing it, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still about 15,000 U.S. service members in the Caribbean and they remain on standby in case Trump orders another strike inside Venezuela, a U.S. defense official told The Hill on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur personnel serve at the direction of the President and Secretary of War and our forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, prepared to project power, defend themselves, and our interests in the region,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top Senate and House lawmakers from both parties emerged from a classified briefing given by President Trump\u2018s most senior officials with little clarity on the future of Venezuela, days after the president declared the U.S. would \u201crun\u201d the country after apprehending its president, Nicolas Maduro. Trump has given a green light for Venezuela\u2019s Vice President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":14473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1754,1724,1770],"class_list":["post-14472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-president","tag-trump","tag-venezuela"],"yoast_head":"\nVenezuela briefing leaves lawmakers questioning what\u2019s ahead - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14472\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Venezuela briefing leaves lawmakers questioning what\u2019s ahead - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Top Senate and House lawmakers from both parties emerged from a classified briefing given by President Trump\u2018s most senior officials with little clarity on the future of Venezuela, days after the president declared the U.S. would \u201crun\u201d the country after apprehending its president, Nicolas Maduro. 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