Trump Officials Tell Congress: No Troops In Venezuela

National security leaders told senators Wednesday that the administration does not plan to use ground troops in Venezuela, despite President Donald Trump’s insistence this week that he might do so.

But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a closed-door briefing with the full Senate that American military forces will remain deployed around the South American country indefinitely to provide “leverage” in stabilizing the region, according to more than a dozen lawmakers who attended the event.

The open-ended naval presence — and the broader briefing — appeared to do little to sway members from their entrenched positions on the operation. Republicans praised the effort and offered support for a naval presence in the region, while Democrats accused the White House of abusing military might for dubious security reasons.

“They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint, for an undefined period of time, as leverage to micromanage the country,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat. “The scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning.”

Wednesday’s briefing — the first for most lawmakers since American troops seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a Saturday raid — comes amid a flurry of controversial military operations and proposals from Trump focused on securing the Western Hemisphere.

The American president, soon after the capture, also suggested taking over Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, prompting a rebuke from European officials. And just before Wednesday’s briefing began, U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, claiming it maneuvered through a Navy blockade of sanctioned tankers leaving port in Venezuela.

Lawmakers said the Wednesday briefing only focused on the Venezuela operation, although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer framed the mood inside the briefing room as “a bipartisan sense of concern” over the potential unrestricted use of military force in other foreign nations.

Republicans who spoke after the event disagreed with that assessment and praised the administration for its South America strategy.

“We're continuing the naval quarantine for obvious reasons because Venezuela has used its oil reserves to be essentially a global piggy bank to fund illicit groups and rogue states around the world, from North Korea to Iran to Hamas and Hezbollah,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and former Navy SEAL. “So yeah, we're going to continue to have that in place for as long as it takes.”

Rubio, lawmakers said, made clear that Venezuela is for now in a transition period that would hopefully lead to free elections and opposition leader Maria Machado leading the country.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who said he spoke this week with Machado, is pressing for that outcome. He also said he wants the release of Venezuela’s political prisoners, a group that he believes includes several Americans.

“They have a plan, and they're going to work their plan, and we're going to get to democracy,” Scott said of the Trump administration. “I believe they're committed to a democracy with free elections, and we're going to get there. It's going to be difficult.”

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said much of the briefing focused on the operation that captured Maduro, though administration officials dedicated “some focus about how things would work” moving forward.

Attorney General Pam Bondi told senators that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has produced a new memo outlining the legal basis for capturing Maduro, according to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

But Democrats said many of their key questions about the legality of the operation remain unanswered.

"They always bring six people, they each speak for 15 minutes, and then we have only five minutes to ask questions,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told reporters. “It's a bullshit briefing."

The Senate is staring down a major test vote this week on a war powers measure that would require Trump to obtain congressional approval for any follow-up military action in Venezuela. An earlier measure failed in November, winning the support of just two Republicans.

While Democratic sponsors on Wednesday said they are optimistic the recent administration moves will encourage more GOP lawmakers to sign on, it’s unlikely to pass.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) signaled he may break with fellow Democrats and oppose a bipartisan war powers measure led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and other Democrats.

Fetterman, who endorsed Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities last year but supported a war powers resolution on Venezuela in November, argued after the briefing that comparisons to the Maduro raid and U.S. involvement in Iraq are “a false equivalence.”

"I might be the only Democrat right now that's willing to see there could be better outcomes for the people in Venezuela,” he said.