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It is the perpetual question in Congress.
Was the Speaker briefed?
When will they give you a briefing?
I don’t know anything about that because I haven’t been briefed yet.
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A Congressional “briefing” is supposed to shed light on unanswered questions.
And the questions are legion after the U.S. military mission to extract Nicolás Maduro from Caracas.
That initial “briefing” unfolded Monday night at the Capitol. Granted, not for every lawmaker. But the bipartisan House and Senate leadership, top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, leaders of the Armed Services Committees, and the chairs and ranking members of the Foreign Affairs/Foreign Relations Committees. Democrats seethed that the White House did not notify Congress in advance of the operation. Granted, “notification” is different from a briefing. And it’s a far cry from Congress voting to authorize or suspend an operation under its Article I “war powers.” Democrats – and some Republicans – contend that only Congress can bless an operation like the one in Venezuela. But regardless, both sides wanted to know what comes next.
It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
“This is a military operation. We all know that,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, on CNN.
“This was not an act of war or an invasion. This was the lawful apprehension of a fugitive from justice,” countered Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., on Fox.
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Most Democrats say the administration violated the Constitution, dispatching U.S. forces abroad without Congressional permission.
“The President literally dropped into a sovereign nation, executed on this warrant, pulled the leader out with no plan for the next day,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., on CNN.
Some lawmakers fretted about President Trump’s future intentions and wondered if Venezuela was just a precursor.
“Now he’s doubling down on this reckless policy,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on MSNOW. “He’s thinking about Colombia and thinking about Cuba and Greenland. I mean, the average American is going to say, ‘What is going on in the White House?’”
But at least one Democrat broke with some of his colleagues.
“This wasn’t a war. This wasn’t boots on grounds and in that kind of a way. This was surgical and very efficient. And I want to celebrate our military,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., on Fox.
At this briefing, lawmakers heard from Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Democrats questioned what the administration told them in previous briefings.
“Marco Rubio personally, explicitly lied to me,” charged Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., on CNN. “We asked over and over, ‘What is the larger plan? Is there an effort at regime change being planned?’”
However, most Republicans dismissed Democrats’ concerns and extolled the success of the mission.
“This is one of the most complicated and exquisite military operations that has ever been conducted in the history of warfare,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., a former Navy SEAL, on Fox. “This is the stuff that legends are made of.”
“If President Trump won the battle against cancer and cured cancer, the Democrats would take the side of cancer,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “It’s insane.”
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The calendar flipped to 2026. It’s a midterm year. And Democrats are already trying to use Venezuela against Republicans. Democrats believe the GOP’s focus on the Caribbean and South America gives them a political opening as they focus on pocket book issues.
“The American people did not sign up for this kind of military adventurism when they voted for Donald Trump. They wanted a president focused on America first. Focused on lowering the cost of living. Lowering health care costs. Lowering grocery prices,” said Schumer.
Democrats are now looking for parliamentary methods to impede potential future maneuvers – in Venezuela. Or perhaps elsewhere.
“The reality is that to fund these operations, to fund nation-building, they need the approval of Congress,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., on CNN.
Most funding for the federal government expires in a little more than three weeks. That includes separate bills to fund the Pentagon and the State Department. Few want a government shutdown. In fact, work on other spending bills has gone quite well. Expect a vote on a mini-spending package later this week. But military and foreign operations spending bills are among the nine measures left incomplete ahead of this next funding round.
The ultimate power in Congress is that of the purse. It’s possible Democrats – and some Republicans who are skeptical of what the U.S. is doing in Venezuela – could limit or cut off funds for any operations there.
Lawmakers will question what’s needed from the military or diplomats. All of that involves money from Capitol Hill. There’s uncertainty about what the endgame is.
“I don’t know what ‘run the country’ means,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “I would think that the United States does not want to be somebody running another country. Even in an interim.”
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Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, represents a battleground district in eastern Iowa. She won in 2020 by six votes. 967 votes in 2024.
“We don’t want to have troops on the ground. Iowans don’t want that. We do not want nation building,” said Miller-Meeks on Fox. “We’ve got enough problems to clear up.”
If lawmakers don’t like what they’re hearing, they could make the Defense Appropriations bill and the State/Foreign Operations measure tricky to pass. And, if Congress limits such funds, any continued operations in Venezuela must cease under the law.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is pushing a vote later this week on a war powers resolution. If approved, it would mandate Congressional approval for future interventions. Only GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined Democrats in voting yes on a similar resolution last fall.
So this was the first briefing. Other briefings will soon follow about the future of Venezuela. Likely for months if not years. South America and the Caribbean are the latest frontier to follow on the global stage.
But questions – and answers – will circulate through Capitol Hill. And it will hinge on whether or not lawmakers are “briefed.”
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