Republicans rally behind Trump's Venezuela strikes. 'Going to face justice.'

WASHINGTON − Congressional Republicans rallied behind the United States’ capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife overnight on Jan. 3, while Democrats expressed deep skepticism about the legality of the military operation in the South American country.

After President Donald Trump announced the strike against Venezuela and the capture of Maduro on social media, GOP leaders heralded it as a new day for Latin America and an example of American leadership.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Congress wasn't notified in advance of the strike that resulted in Maduro's capture. Cotton compared it to the FBI arresting a drug trafficker or cybercriminal in the United States.

"Congress doesn't need to be notified every time the executive branch is making an arrest," Cotton told Fox News. "And that's exactly what happened in Venezuela. And now, Maduro is going to come to the United States, and he's going to face justice."

In a Jan. 3 news conference, Trump said he didn't notify Congress because lawmakers would leak information.

"Congress has a tendency to leak," Trump said. "This would not be good."

Trump said there was danger of any advanced warning of military strikes, but added Venezuelan officials knew American forces were coming.

Moments earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration didn’t tell Congress because it was a "trigger-based mission" in which conditions had to be met each night.

"It’s just not the mission you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission," Rubio said.

In an X post, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said, "President Trump today changed the course of Latin America for a generation."

While members of both American political parties described Maduro, the Venezuelan president since 2013, as a "dictator" and an "authoritarian," lawmakers differed greatly on the powers a president has to launch a strike on foreign soil.

Democrats, in the minority of both chambers of Congress, questioned the justification for military action and the extent to which an American president can act without congressional authorization.

The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, though past presidents have taken military actions without congressional approval. In early December, a bipartisan group of Senators pushed to file a War Powers Resolution to approve the use of armed force in Venezuela.

"Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike," Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

If the United States asserted the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders accused of criminal conduct, Warner questioned, what would prevent China from claiming authority over Taiwan's leadership, or Russia's actions to abduct Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it," Warner said.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, called Maduro "a thug and an illegitimate leader of Venezuela," but said terrorizing and oppressing his people didn’t justify Trump "trampling the Constitution."

Schiff said Congress must debate a War Powers Resolution to either authorize the military action or refuse to do so.

"Acting without Congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them," Schiff said in a statement. "And in conjunction with his continued saber-rattling around the world and dropping approval ratings at home, the American people should be concerned that this is not the last time he will break that promise."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the military operation by Trump on Venezuelan soil was "entirely inconsistent with what his cabinet repeatedly briefed to Congress and goes against the expressed wishes of the American people."

"We are left with no understanding of how the Administration is preparing to mitigate risks to the U.S. and we have no information regarding a long-term strategy following today’s extraordinary escalation," Shaheen said in a statement. "Instead, the Administration consistently misled the American people and their elected representatives by offering three differing and contradictory explanations for its actions."

House Democrats called for a briefing on Venezuela.

While Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, called Maduro "an illegitimate ruler," he said he hadn’t seen evidence that the Venezuelan leader’s administration posed a threat to justify military action without congressional authorization.

"The Administration must immediately brief Congress on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision," Himes said in a statement.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he had spoken with Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Like Trump administration officials, he blamed Maduro for "trafficking illegal drugs and violent cartel members into this country," claims that have little evidence. Data shows Venezuela isn't a major producer of opioids like fentanyl, and it's a relatively small player in the cocaine trade, which is far less lethal.

"President Trump is putting American lives first, succeeding where others have failed, and under his leadership the United States will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country," Johnson said in an X post.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, who represents South Florida constituencies that have long pushed for the ouster of Maduro, called his capture "a new day" for Venezuela and Latin America.

"The United States and our hemisphere are safer because of President Trump's leadership," Scott said on social media.

Democratic leaders of the Senate and House called Trump’s plan to run Venezuela “unacceptable” and said the administration should brief congressional leaders about the military action in Venezuela immediately and the rest of Congress next week.

“President Trump’s announced plan to run Venezuela is unacceptable,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, said in a joint statement. “It is critical that the Trump administration provide an immediate Gang of Eight briefing, followed by briefings for all Members of the House and Senate early next week.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transported to New York to face federal charges related to drug trafficking and weapons possession, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The couple landed in New York on Saturday evening.

The Trump administration also said the United States launched the attack because of stolen oil.

After the Justice Department released the indictment, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, who has feuded with Trump before, questioned the intervention and the decision to take over Venezuela.

"25 page indictment but no mention of fentanyl or stolen oil," Massie said in an X post. "Search it for yourself."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, who earlier resigned effective Jan. 5, said if Trump were interested prosecuting narco-terrorists, he wouldn’t have pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year prison term for cocaine trafficking.

Greene suggested controlling Venezuela’s oil could be a step toward pursuing regime change in Iran.

“The next obvious observation is that by removing Maduro this is a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies that will ensure stability for the next obvious regime change war in Iran,” Greene said on social media.

This story was updated with new information.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Francesca Chambers