Congress

‘Don’t expect troops on the ground,’ Johnson says after Venezuela briefing

Published

2 days ago

January 6, 2026

U.S. troops will have a limited role in Venezuela, Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday, after top deputies to President Donald Trump briefed senior congressional leaders on the weekend operation that removed leader Nicolas Maduro from power.

“We don’t expect troops on the ground,” Johnson told reporters after the two-hour evening briefing on Capitol Hill. “We don’t expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the … the interim government to get that going. I expect that there will be an election called in Venezuela. … It should happen in short order.”

The closed-door session was the first time top Trump administration officials briefed a group of lawmakers in person since the surprise Saturday morning raid that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife. Both pleaded not guilty Monday to drug trafficking and other charges in a federal courtroom in Manhattan.

Hours later, 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 met with top party leaders, as well as the bipartisan leaders of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

So far, the response to the administration’s actions in Venezuela has largely split along party lines. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after the meeting that the briefing was “extensive” but it raised “far more questions than it answered.”

“Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague … based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,” Schumer said.

Schumer added that he asked for “assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries” but didn’t receive any.

Johnson, meanwhile, sought to play down the broader implications of the military raid — and tamp down criticism that Trump and his deputies reneged on pledges not to pursue regime change in Venezuela.

“The way this is being described — this is not a regime change,” Johnson said. “This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.”

The administration will brief all House members Wednesday, Johnson added. The Senate is also expected to get a briefing for all of its members that day, though that hasn’t been finalized.

In addition to the operation over the weekend, administration officials and lawmakers in the room discussed explosions in Caracas that reportedly took place as the briefing unfolded, according to two people with knowledge of the briefing.

A White House official granted anonymity to comment on the developing situation said the administration is closely tracking the reports of gunfire in Venezuela and that the U.S. is not involved.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.), asked about the explosions, said in an interview that the briefers discussed everything “before, during and after” the U.S. operation. He later added, “I think it would be unreasonable to think there aren’t disruptors there,” referencing the governments of Iran, China and Russia.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she had some of her questions answered but added that “there are a significant number of questions that still need to be answered.”

Asked if she believed that the Trump administration is considering similar actions in other countries, she said, “I don’t think that’s clear.”

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), voiced concerns about the Trump administration’s plans for Venezuela following Maduro’s ouster.

“The military did its job. It had a plan,” Meeks told reporters. “I don’t like the orders that they were given. But I can’t say the same for the plan after.”

But Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “we have a lot of professionals running this, and I have confidence.”

Some Republicans said they want more clarity from the administration on its ultimate endgame.

“I’ve got to see what strategy there is,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who did not attend the briefing. “What the president was trying to communicate is hopefully facilitating a peaceful transition of power. We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know how you do that without boots on the ground. And I don’t support boots on the ground.”

Other lawmakers grumbled not about the overall strategy but about the administration’s decision to brief lawmakers piecemeal instead of all at once. The Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the DOJ and FBI, jointly fumed about being cut out of the initial briefing despite administration officials describing Maduro’s capture as a law enforcement operation.

“This business of coming over and just talking to some of us, I think is a special kind of stupid,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview Monday. “They need to sit down with every member of the Senate and explain what’s going on.”

Calen Razor and Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.

Congress

House Democrats eye Venezuela war powers vote

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Democrats are making a fresh attempt to rein in President Donald Trump on Venezuela, plotting to force a vote on a war powers resolution in the coming weeks.

The resolution is likely to be similar to one that was introduced last year as the military began to marshal forces in the Caribbean. That measure was narrowly defeated in the GOP-controlled House. Democrats are hopeful they can garner more support from Republicans following the weekend operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Rules Committee Democrat who co-authored the original measure, said he envisioned “something similar to what we did last time, maybe with a couple of minor adjustments.”

He and other top Democrats privately huddled Tuesday evening as they planned a way forward. Some Democrats are privately concerned that introducing a war powers measure that is broadly worded could fail and give the impression that the House is giving Trump permission to take further action in Venezuela.

Democratic leaders are involving lawmakers with military backgrounds such as Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) as they plan their response, according to Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat. He said he expects “very little” to change from last year’s measure.

Congress

Warren cuts checks to state Democratic parties

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is donating $400,000 to 23 state Democratic parties in an effort to fund Democratic infrastructure ahead of the 2026 midterms.

In an interview, the Massachusetts Democrat called the “early money” investment “crucial” for state parties. She’s urging fellow Democrats to follow her lead on donating now because “the best time to do it is January, not waiting until next October.”

The 23 states are ones with competitive congressional or statewide races in the 2026 midterms, and include Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

“They need the resources to build out infrastructure that all of our Democratic candidates will need to win in November,” Warren said. “They need money now to hire staff, recruit volunteers, knock on doors, make calls, do all the things that make Democrats competitive in these elections.”

She’s also raised more than $1.1 million for candidates this cycle, while weighing in on a handful of contested primaries.

Warren, a longtime progressive champion, is urging candidates to focus their campaign messaging on “the high costs that families are struggling with every day” and “make it clear that we have solutions and that we will fight to deliver real change.”

In 2018, Warren also donated $250,000 to state parties, a sign of her early presidential primary preparations ahead of the 2020 campaign. But when asked if the same applied to this year’s investment, Warren said, “no.”

“Democrats need to win elections everywhere, and I am 100 percent committed to making that happen in November 2026,” she said.

Congress

Capitol agenda: The House GOP’s nerve-wracking return

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The start of the second session of the 119th Congress isn’t going as planned for House Republicans.

First, the GOP Conference’s long-planned, day-long policy retreat Tuesday at the Kennedy Center — intended to build unity around a legislative agenda in a midterm election year — was shaken by news of Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s (R-Calif.) unexpected death and Rep. Jim Baird’s (R-Ind.) hospitalization from a car accident.

It brought into stark relief the major math challenges House Republicans now face. LaMalfa’s passing brings the balance of the House to 218-213. And as long as Baird is out recovering, Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose only a single GOP vote on party-line legislative business on the chamber floor.

“We keep saying we are one breath away from the minority — that’s more true today than ever,” said one House Republican granted anonymity to speak candidly about the mood.

— The numbers game: Johnson’s margins could be a major problem for Wednesday’s vote to move forward with consideration of a “minibus” funding package covering Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water and Interior-Environment — if the measure makes it to the floor at all.

Rules ultimately recessed Tuesday night without approving the rule to allow for floor debate on the funding bill after Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and other conservatives revolted over some of the earmarks for projects in Democratic districts and states.

The panel is expected to reconvene Wednesday morning to discuss a leadership-backed compromise, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the plans — though it wasn’t immediately clear what resolution could satisfy Roy’s demands without alienating Democrats whose support will be key in the Senate.

— Health care: Republicans who hoped a speech from Donald Trump at the Tuesday retreat would bring messaging clarity to their position on health care policy also had their dreams quickly dashed as the president suggested the GOP ought to be “flexible” when it comes to federal funding for abortion.

It caused an uproar among conservatives who insist any agreement to extend lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies must include language banning the use of federal funds for abortions — while Democrats say abortion restrictions are a nonstarter.

Republicans will have to soon decide what compromises they’re willing to make. The House is set to take a procedural vote Wednesday on whether to move forward with legislation that would revive the enhanced ACA subsidies for three years, which Congress let expire in December.

The bill is expected to pass the House on Thursday with support from all Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Then, senators will have to make the next move.

What else we’re watching:

— More Venezuela briefings: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine will brief all lawmakers on the Venezuela operation Wednesday morning — first in the Senate, then in the House.

— Appropriations movement: Congress has just over three weeks to pass the remaining spending bills needed to avoid another shutdown.

If lawmakers can pass the Energy-Water, Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science funding measure by early next week, appropriators are tentatively planning to move two more spending packages. The first, according to Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), would include Homeland, State-Foreign Operations and Financial Services. A final minibus could contain Defense, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.