Republicans largely back Trump on Venezuela action, Democrats call it unjustified

Top congressional leaders, who make up the “Gang of 8,” were not briefed by the administration before the U.S. attack on Venezuela began, multiple sources told ABC News Saturday morning.

According to one source, the Defense Department notified congressional staff after the operation began.

Weeks ago, President Donald Trump indicated that he did not informed lawmakers ahead of any ground operations in Venezuela because he was concerned they could “leak.”

Congress’s initial reaction was largely divided along partisan lines.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone Saturday morning to drum up support among Republicans on Capitol Hill.

In particular, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee initially appeared critical of the measure being taken without congressional authorization.

“I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Lee posted on X.

But Lee later followed up his post by saying that he had spoken to Rubio on the phone and was now comfortable with the administration’s authority to take action.

“Just got off the phone with @SecRubio. He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by US personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those carrying out the arrest warrant. This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect US personnel from actual or imminent attack. Thank you, @SecRubio, for keeping me informed,” Lee wrote.

He also said Rubio told him he does not anticipate “further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody.”

“This is not the type of mission that you can send notification to Congress about. It was a trigger-based mission where conditions had to be met night after night,” Rubio said later at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.

“Remember, at the end of the day, at its core, this was about the arrest of two indicted fugitives from American justice, and the War Department supported the Justice Department in that work. Now, there are broader political implications here, but it’s just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it puts it in jeopardy,” he said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., echoed Lee’s comments after saying he, too, had spoken with Rubio.

“Nicolás Maduro was not only an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug trafficking operation. That’s why he was indicted in a US court almost six years ago for drug trafficking and narcoterrorism,” Cotton posted on operation”.

Later, speaking to Fox News, Cotton said: “Congress does not need to be notified every time the executive branch makes an arrest. And that’s exactly what happened this morning in Venezuela, and now Maduro will come to the United States and face justice.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement that he had spoken with Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in “the last few hours,” calling the military action in Venezuela “decisive” and a “justified operation that will protect American lives.”

Johnson said the Trump administration is working to schedule briefings next week when Congress returns to Washington after the break.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said in a statement that he had also spoken with Rubio and argued that Trump’s actions were taken as part of “the execution of a valid order of the Department of Justice.”

“President Trump’s decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and arrest Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step in bringing him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been charged in the United States,” Thune said.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, responded that Rubio had denied that regime change was the administration’s goal.

“Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, but I have seen no evidence that his presidency represents a threat that justifies military action without authorization from Congress, nor have I heard a strategy for the day after and how we will prevent Venezuela from falling into chaos,” he said in a statement. “Secretary Rubio repeatedly denied before Congress that the Administration intended to force a regime change in Venezuela. “The Administration must immediately inform Congress of its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

In a statement Saturday morning, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, one of the Senate’s staunchest defenders of Congress’ war authorizations, issued a scathing statement about Trump’s actions in Venezuela and called on Congress to pass his resolution that would block the use of U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities in or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

“Where will this go next? Will the president deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To fight terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To crack down on Americans peacefully gathering to protest his policies?” Kaine said.

“Trump has threatened to do all of this and more and sees no need to seek legal authorization from the elected legislature before putting service members at risk,” he said.

Kaine, along with California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and co-sponsoring Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, introduced a war powers resolution last month. Block the use of the US military to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

That legislation is ready to be voted on. The Senate returns to Washington next week on Monday, while the House returns on Tuesday.

Last month, Republicans defeated two Democratic war powers resolutions that attempted to rein in the president’s military actions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

The first measure, H. Con. Res. 61, would direct the president to withdraw the United States Armed Forces from hostilities with any terrorist organization designated by the president in the Western Hemisphere, unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force for such purpose has been promulgated.

That resolution was drafted by the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks. A vote failed on December 17 by a count of 210-216, with two Republicans voting in favor and two Democrats voting against the measure.

“This action is also a violation of international law and further undermines the global standing of the United States,” Meeks, D-N.Y., declared Saturday after the operation. “Congress must reassert its constitutional role before this escalation leads to further instability, chaos, and unnecessary risks to American lives.”

A separate war powers resolution, H. Con. Res. 64, championed by Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern and written to address hostilities with Venezuela, narrowly failed by a vote of 211 to 213, with three Republicans voting in favor, disagreeing with the rest of the House Republican Conference. A moderate Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted to defeat the measure along with Republicans.

On Saturday, McGovern argued that strikes are illegal.

“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump has just launched an illegal and unjustified attack against Venezuela,” he published in X.

While congressional Republicans overwhelmingly expressed support for the Trump administration’s operation to capture Maduro, at least three House Republicans issued critical statements about the action.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky posted on

Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska posted on

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted, in part: “If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela were truly intended to save American lives from deadly drugs, why hasn’t the Trump administration taken action against Mexican cartels?”

He added: “And if prosecuting narcoterrorists is a high priority, then why did President Trump pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted and sentenced to 45 years for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States? Ironically, cocaine is the same drug that Venezuela primarily traffics into the United States.”

Greene continued: “Americans’ distaste for our own government’s endless military aggression and support for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep Washington’s military machine funded and running. This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy, were we wrong.”