US lawmakers had a lot to say today as the Trump administration outlined its strategy for Venezuela in the aftermath of the capture this weekend of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas.
They also weighed in on the US seizure of oil tankers linked to Venezuela and the White House remarks about acquiring the Danish territory of Greenland.
Here’s some of the reaction:
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri told reporters he thought the administration outlined a clear plan during a briefing today.
“If anybody comes out of here saying that they didn’t get a clear picture of what this looks like moving forward, they’re not being truthful,” he said.
GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said the administration’s briefing was like a good “movie script” and the operational details they heard were very interesting. He said he’s not upset his Senate Armed Services Committee was not briefed ahead of time because it had to be closely held.
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN he believes the administration’s plan right now is to “sort of force the current regime to cooperate,” noting that it is “basically the Maduro regime without Maduro” and concerns remain about links to drug cartels.
Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said each of the briefers — which included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — spoke for roughly 15 minutes, with very little time for substantive back-and-forth with members.
“It’s a bulls*it briefing. Nothing comes out of it. They’re just checking the box,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut accused Trump officials of lacking a cohesive strategy, saying
“This is an insane plan. They are proposing to steal Venezuela’s oil at gunpoint forever and use that leverage to run the country.”
Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico demanded public hearings and the declassification of some Venezuela operation information:
“Why the hell is the Trump administration scared to face the American people in an open setting, or the Senate or the House? I don’t understand that. They keep wanting to hide in a box somewhere. I don’t get it.”
As for Greenland:
GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana warned against using the US military:
“To invade Greenland and attack its sovereignty, a fellow NATO country, would be weapons-grade stupid. President Trump is not weapons-grade stupid, nor is Marco Rubio,” Kennedy told reporters. “There will be more to happen with respect to Greenland.”
And on the US seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania praised the US:
“I love it. I love it. … Calling bulls*it on the Russians, you know on the dirty Russians, absolutely,” Fetterman told reporters.
CNN’s Alison Main, Manu Raju, Logan Schiciano, Ted Barrett, Sarah Ferris and Camila DeChalus contributed to this post.