US Venezuela News LIVE: US Lawmakers Split After Classified Briefing On Venezuela Operation
Top US lawmakers emerged from a closed-door briefing on the Venezuela operation Monday night with sharply divided reactions along party lines.
The Gang of Eight — comprising congressional leaders and the heads of the Intelligence Committees — was briefed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine.
Republicans defended the Trump administration’s actions, calling the capture of Nicolás Maduro justified. “This was a decisive and justified action,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), adding, “This is not regime change. This is a demand for a change of behavior by a regime.”
Democrats, however, expressed concern and said they left with more questions than answers. “I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “When the U.S. engages in regime change and so-called nation-building, it always ends up hurting the United States. I left that briefing feeling it would again.”
Earlier, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — criticised their exclusion from the briefing, noting that the administration has described Maduro’s arrest as a law enforcement operation, which falls under their committee’s jurisdiction.
Source: NBC News
