Congress
Capitol agenda: Congress confronts Venezuela fallout
Venezuela will dominate the congressional agenda this week, with Republicans lacking a unified vision on what happens next after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the Senate poised to vote to limit further attacks without lawmaker approval.
— Briefings incoming: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine will brief top lawmakers on this weekend’s Venezuela attack at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The members receiving the briefing include the top four congressional leaders as well as senior House and Senate members of the Intelligence, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations committees.
Trump himself will speak to House Republicans Tuesday at their annual retreat at the Kennedy Center.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are also working to schedule an all-senators briefing as soon as mid-week, according to two people granted anonymity.
— The big question: Who will ‘run’ Venezuela? Republicans have largely rallied behind the administration’s capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. But there’s some daylight between them when it comes to what happens next — and some emerging distrust with the administration.
Trump, at least initially, praised Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez — now the country’s acting leader — as someone he could work with. His comments were at odds with the wishes of Florida Republican lawmakers who prefer Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Trump dismissed her as not having the “support” or “respect” to lead the country. Other Republicans including Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana are calling on Trump to look to Edmundo González, who many nations consider the rightful winner of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election.
Behind the scenes, some Republicans are entering the week, as many Democrats are saying publicly, feeling misled by Rubio and the others in the administration about what the endgame has been for Venezuela. Lawmakers have generally trusted Rubio, their former colleague, but the Venezuela attack is straining the relationship.
Rubio on Sunday was vague on the administration’s transition plans for Venezuela. Instead of outlining Trump’s pledge to “run” the country, he said the U.S. is not occupying Venezuela and is instead implementing a “quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next.”
— The war powers vote: Despite some bipartisan misgivings, it doesn’t yet appear there will be a groundswell of GOP opposition to Trump’s move if the Senate votes this week on whether to limit further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval. A November vote on the issue garnered support from just two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).
House Democrats in a private meeting Sunday discussed how they could force Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on war powers, according to three people granted anonymity. House Republicans in December narrowly defeated a resolution to block military action in Venezuela, with Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) breaking with their party to support it.
Massie’s aggressive rebuke of the weekend attack is opening a new front in his primary as he faces off against Trump-backed challenger and former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
What else we’re watching:
— Shutdown vibes not so bad: House leaders are hoping to put a three-bill funding package on the floor Thursday covering Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Energy-Water. If the House passes it with Democratic support, it could also become a vehicle for a stop-gap continuing resolution in the Senate.
— Health care action: House Democrats will move as soon as Wednesday to force a vote on extending expired Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. The House could pass the bill by Thursday but it’s on track to die in the Senate.
Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill, Nicholas Wu, Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
Congress
Steny Hoyer set to announce retirement from Congress
Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer is set to announce his retirement from the House as soon as Thursday, capping off a decades-long career in Congress, according to two people who were granted anonymity to confirm the news ahead of a public announcement.
Hoyer, who represents a district stretching from the eastern Washington suburbs to southern Maryland, has served since 1981, rising up through the ranks to become the second-ranking House Democrat under Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He stepped aside from his senior role after Democrats lost the House in 2022 as part of a broader changing of the guard but remained in Congress, retaking a senior post on the House Appropriations Committee.
Only two sitting House members — GOP Reps. Hal Rogers of Kentucky and Chris Smith of New Jersey — have served longer than Hoyer, and only by a few months.
Now 86, Hoyer remained circumspect about his plans to run for re-election. The decision comes as numerous senior Democrats are facing primaries from younger candidates or choosing not to run for reelection. Pelosi announced in October she plans to retire at the end of her term.
A Hoyer spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His decision to step aside is likely to create a free-for-all for the deep-blue seat. One candidate, Harry Jarin, is already in the race after launching a primary in May that specifically targeted Hoyer’s age.
Jonathan Martin contributed to this report.
Congress
House Oversight panel to issue more subpoenas in Epstein case
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will subpoena Les Wexner, the longtime friend and client of Jeffrey Epstein, along with two men who worked for the late convicted sex offender.
It was the culmination of a flurry of subpoena requests Wednesday from rank-and-file members of the panel, several of which were ultimately approved. The committee also voted to subpoena Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn — Epstein’s lawyer and accountant, respectively.
It shows how the House Oversight Committee could continue to find itself at the center of efforts to re-investigate the Epstein case as the Justice Department presides over a prolonged and rocky rollout of materials.
The successful motions, brought by the top Democrat on panel, California Rep. Robert Garcia, appeared to be the result of an agreement between Garcia and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who also successfully moved to subpoena American businessman Neville Singham and journalist Seth Harp.
“There is probably no one more important as it relates to the financing and the work of this investigation, which both sides of the aisle are interested in,” Garcia said, of Wexner. “Public reporting has documented their longstanding ties. He should answer our questions in a non-partisan way to get the truth.”
Luna concurred: “I think that this is a sound motion for subpoena because Les Wexner has been named by victims and also, too, is in a number of documentaries,” she said and urged her colleagues to join her in supporting the effort.
In moving to subpoena Singham, Luna cited a letter signed by then-Sen. Marco Rubio, who now serves as Secretary of State, suggesting the entrepreneur may have been connected to activities that violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Luna also claimed Singham was funding groups that were adverse to American interests.
Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) questioned why Luna was making her motion at this time. Still, Garcia recommended lawmakers vote “yes” despite Min’s concerns, explaining “the representative made clear her support for the deposition that we’re going to have with Mr. Wexner.”
In an interview after the Wexner vote, Garcia said he did not negotiate the matter with Luna before the hearing.
“[Congress is] about compromise, and I think for us, the Les Wexner subpoena is at the center of this investigation,” he said.
Garcia also supported Luna’s motion to subpoena Harp, who has been accused of doxxing a Delta Force official involved in the operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Separately, the committee rejected a bid from Democrats to subpoena the Department of Homeland Security for records related to the Wednesday shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent.
The panel struck down an attempt from Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) to issue the subpoena at the end of an hours-long hearing around the welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota. Pressley requested “documents and footage” of the fatal incident.
Garcia said he was hopeful the panel would investigate the episode.
“We’re talking about Minnesota right now,” he said. “This was a killing by an ICE agent. There are videos that are now online. There’s testimony that’s being brought to light. It’s horrific. I encourage folks to watch those videos and see what’s happened for themselves.”
Congress
Trump has ‘greenlit’ Russia sanctions bill, Lindsey Graham says
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday after meeting with President Donald Trump that the Senate could vote as soon as next week to impose new sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war with Ukraine.
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator [Richard] Blumenthal and many others,” Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement, referring to the Connecticut Democrat who coauthored the long-stalled legislation.
Spokespeople for the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Graham said a Senate vote would take place “hopefully as early as next week.”
Graham and Senate Republican leaders have been working with the White House for months to try to reach an agreement on a final version of the legislation — and this isn’t the first time Graham has declared that his bill could soon move, for it to only stall out again.
The legislation would place secondary sanctions on countries such as China and India that buy oil and gas from Russia in a bid to cut off the cash flow for President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
“Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham said, saying the legislation would be “well-timed.”
A spokesperson for Graham didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether changes will be incorporated at Trump’s request. The president has previously requested absolute flexibility to impose and retract any sanctions at will.
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