Name: Congressional leaders were notified about Venezuela operation after it began
Uploaded: 2026-01-03T22:09:18.141Z
Duration: 7 min 29 s
Description: Congressional lawmakers were notified about the U.S. strikes on Venezuela after they began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday. Republican Rep. Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, join with more.

Congressional lawmakers were notified about the U.S. strikes on Venezuela after they began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday. Republican Rep. Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, join with more.

Washington

The Trump administration notified congressional leaders about a military operation in Venezuela only after it had already begun. The operation aimed to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro under a U.S. Department of Justice warrant related to drug charges. Some congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, praised the action as decisive and necessary for U.S. and regional security.

However, other lawmakers, such as Senator Mark Warner and Representative Adam Smith, raised concerns about the precedent set by using military force to capture foreign leaders and questioned the operation's effectiveness and motivations. Critics highlighted the potential for global instability and the lack of a clear plan for Venezuela's future, drawing parallels to previous U.S. interventions in other countries.

Congressional leaders were notified about Venezuela operation after it began

The Trump administration informed congressional leaders about the strikes after the Venezuela operation began, as you just heard there from Margaret. House and Senate leaders and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees received the notification. Senate Majority Leader John Thune welcomed the action, saying in part, quote, President Trump's decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States, end quote. While House Speaker Mike Johnson said, quote, President Trump is putting American lives first, succeeding where others have failed, and under his leadership, the United States will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country, end quote. Republican Congressman Rick Crawford is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and joins me now. Thank you so much, Congressman, for your time. What is your reaction to these strikes? And do you feel that Congress should have been alerted sooner? I think it's a great day for Venezuela. I think this is a demonstration of a judicious, very precision strike executing a warrant on these criminals that need to be brought to justice. And because it was executing a Department of Justice action with the assistance of military, they are not required to notify Congress in advance. However, the congressional notification is not necessarily an advance notification. So I actually was contacted after the fact. So I've had conversations with Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth. And keep in mind that Secretary Rubio is also the National Security Advisor. So he has a couple of hats to wear in the context of what's taking place here. And I think we need to just put this in perspective. Also, this is very, very similar to the action that the Obama administration took back in 2012 on Al-Libi in Libya to bring fugitives to justice. So we're not reinventing the wheel here. We're basically using a precedent that was set and exercised on under the Obama administration. Are you satisfied, Congressman, by your conversations with Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth? Or do you have further questions? No, I was very satisfied with the conversations I had with both of those individuals. And I'm comfortable with the role that they play and what they have planned for the future of Venezuela. I do want to put something to you, Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, did put out a statement on X saying, in part, quote, if the United States asserts the right to use military force to capture foreign leaders, it accuses of criminal conduct. What prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan's leadership? What stops Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine's president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse. What is your response to that? Well, I mean, I don't engage in hypotheticals. That's kind of expected here. I mean, look, you have people who everything that President Trump does, they view through the lens of, I hate Donald Trump. The fact is, Joe Biden did not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro. The problem was that Joe Biden didn't have the testicular fortitude to do anything about it. That's the difference here. We have a president in office here now that's not playing around. What we need to understand is, if we're going to have a safe America, that requires a safe neighborhood. And he is exercising on that. And this is exactly what needed to happen. It should have been taking place years ago, but it's been allowed to fester. This is one of the most pivotal locations in the hemisphere for allowing cartels to carve out an operational space for them to act with impunity and be able to ship drugs. Hey, listen, not only to the United States, but to Europe as well. Quite frankly, I'm a little bit outraged that the Europeans aren't celebrating this decision as well, because look, what President Trump has been doing for the American people has also benefited the Europeans, only they just didn't have the backbone to address that problem. President Trump does. I didn't have hearing testicular fortitude from a congressman on my bingo card today, but here we are, 2026. Congressman Rick Crawford, thank you for your time. Now let's go ahead and bring in Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat representing Washington State and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thank you for your time. I would like to get your reaction to what's happened so far. Well, I think there's no evidence whatsoever that this makes America safer. I mean, this is not necessarily going to have anything to do with the drug trade coming into the U.S. And remember, this is at the same time that President Trump pardoned the Honduran president who was convicted of drug trafficking. So this doesn't seem to have much to do with drugs, and any argument that somehow changing the leader of Venezuela is going to dramatically shift the narco drug trafficking in the U.S. is just ludicrous. It's not going to have that impact. It seems that what this is about is Trump wants Venezuela's oil. And is that a legitimate purpose? And again, what comes next? Okay, great. Maduro is gone. What now? Trump says that we're going to be running Venezuela? How exactly? We don't have any troops in Venezuela right at the moment. Is his plan to invade? And look, what I want, you know, Congressman Crawford and others to understand about this is this is always seductive. Yeah, we've done this before. We did it in Iraq. We did it in Afghanistan. We did it in Libya. And it always ends badly because you have that initial, okay, Maduro's terrible and Saddam Hussein is terrible. Obviously the Taliban are terrible and Gaddafi is terrible. All true, but the notion that the U.S. military can reach in and fix that problem with the use of force, this is what Trump ran against. He said, you know, we've stumbled into all these forever wars and he's going to be too smart to do that. And here we are not knowing what comes next. How do you and your caucus plan to respond? Well, I think, you know, the response is to criticize the action and talk about what's going to come next. I think we definitely need that. The Armed Services Committee and the Intel Committee need to be briefed on that important point. Where is this going? What is the future plan? I mean, remember Secretary Rubio up until, well, about 12 hours ago, kept assuring Congress that the actions that were being taken in the Caribbean and around Latin America had nothing to do with regime change. That's what he said. And obviously it's clear that that was the goal. Yes, Maduro, very bad guy. A lot of very bad guys throughout the world. But again, the lessons we should have learned in the last 20 years is relying on U.S. military might is a problem. And also Senator Warner's point is very important. What is Russia and China going, what are they going to, you know, interpret this as? Which leaders in the world are they going to decide are illegitimate and need to be removed? You know, it wasn't that Joe Biden lacked the testicular fortitude. It's that he recognized that you can make a bad situation worse. Yes, Maduro is illegitimate. A lot of leaders are illegitimate in the world, thinking you can simply reach in like we're playing some game of risk and remove them and then wash your hands of it and everything's fine. Well, we've learned that that's just not the way it plays out most of the time. Congressman Adam Smith, we appreciate your time.

Sunday's launches came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping, for talks expected to cover North Korea's nuclear program.

Pyongyang

North Korea carries out new ballistic missiles test

The strikes occurred Saturday evening on an underground facility in the mountains just north of the historic town of Palmyra in Homs province.

Palmyra

British, French warplanes strike suspected IS facility in Syria

At least 30 people have been killed and several others abducted after gunmen attacked a market in Nigeria’s Niger State, according to police. The attackers stormed Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village on Saturday afternoon, setting stalls on fire and looting food.

Niger

At least 30 killed in market attack in Nigeria’s Niger State

Pope Leo has expressed deep concern over the recent U.S. raid in Venezuela, urging that the well-being of the Venezuelan people must take precedence over all other considerations.

Rome

Venezuela Strikes

Pope voices concern over U.S. raid in Venezuela, calls for peace

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country — which President Donald Trump said would come under effective U.S. control.

Caracas

Venezuela's Maduro arrives in New York after being abducted by U.S.

President Donald Trump says the people of Venezuela are now free of Maduro's dictatorship. But Venezuela's vice president has demanded the US send Maduro back, calling him the rightful president.

Trump says U.S will ‘run’ Venezuela after Maduro seized

After their capture, former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were flown to Stewart International Airport, 60 miles north of New York City, then will be helicoptered to Manhattan. They will be processed at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Ali Bauman reports.

U.S. treating Nicolás Maduro like a drug kingpin, federal authorities say

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is in New York after he was captured by U.S forces during a daring raid. President Trump said the U.S. will be running the Latin American country, for now.

New York

First images emerge of Nicolás Maduro after capture by U.S.

No U.S. service members were killed in the military operation in Venezuela, the Trump administration said. CBS News national security correspondent Charlie D'Agata has more details.

No U.S. service members killed in Venezuela operation, Trump administration says

The United Nations, along with a host of countries including France, China and Russia have criticized U.S strikes on Venezuela and capture of Nicolás Maduro as a violation of international law.

World reacts to U.S. strikes on Venezuela, capture of Nicolás Maduro

Initial investigations suggest the fire that tore through a Swiss ski resort bar New Year's Eve, killing at least 40 and injuring dozens of others, started when 'fountain candles' attached to champagne bottles were carried too close to the ceiling.

Sion

Deadly Swiss fire likely caused by champagne sparklers

BYD is now the world's top seller of electric cars, overtaking Tesla after a decade of dominance by Elon Musk's company. Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow breaks down how the world's richest man came in second.

Austin

BYD topples Tesla as world's biggest EV brand

In a surprise attack overnight on Saturday, the United States launched strikes against Venezuelan capital Caracas and other cities. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country". Follow for live updates.

Trump says U.S. 'will run' Venezuela until 'safe' transition

In a surprise attack overnight on Saturday, the United States launched strikes against Venezuelan capital Caracas and other cities. US President Donald Trump stated that Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of the country".

Maduro to be brought to New York after Venezuela capture, Trump says

US strikes rocked Venezuela's capital early Saturday after months of threats by Donald Trump against Nicolas Maduro. Trump later confirmed the United States had carried out the strikes and captured the Venezuelan leader.

Venezuela says 'rejects with all our strength presence of foreign troops'

Separatist forces in Yemen say at least seven people were killed in Saudi airstrikes on Friday, as tensions deepen between regional allies. The strikes come while the Saudi-backed governor of Hadramout province says “peaceful” efforts are underway to retake military bases abandoned by Emirati-backed separatists, highlighting the latest escalation in the rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Seiyun

Saudi airstrikes kill seven in Yemen as tensions deepen between allies

Venezuela slams U.S. strikes amid Maduro's ouster

Venezuela said it rejected "military aggression" by the United States after multiple explosions rocked capital Caracas and other areas early on Saturday. Attacks took place in the capital of Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

Trump says Venezuela's Maduro captured after U.S. strikes

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has appointed Gen. Kyrylo Budanov as the new chief of staff. At a pivotal moment in Moscow's nearly four-year invasion, Budanov will be central to Ukraine’s wartime decision-making.

Kyiv

Zelenskyy taps military intelligence chief as top aide

President Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, as the administration early Saturday ratcheted up its campaign against the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. launches military strikes on Venezuela

A potential New Year's Eve terror attack inspired by ISIS was thwarted in North Carolina, authorities announced. A suspect is in custody, accused of planning to attack a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in the town of Mint Hill, which is located near Charlotte. Scott MacFarlane has the latest.

Charlotte

Potential terror attack thwarted in North Carolina, officials say

The blaze at Le Constellation, killing at least 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously, was likely started by sparklers in champagne bottles, authorities said on Friday afternoon, as identification of those killed and injured continued.

Crans-Montana

Deadly Swiss Alps bar fire likely started by sparklers

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he is open to talks with President Trump on several issues, including drug trafficking, oil and migration.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro open to talks with Trump

Whenever, wherever, however - that's the Venezuelan President's offer to sell more oil to the U.S., as he pleads for diplomacy, not conflict. It comes after Washington hit five more alleged drug boats with airstrikes and reportedly struck Venezuelan soil for the first time. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is in hot pursuit of an oil tanker which is suddenly claiming to be Russian.

Maduro open to talks with Trump over fight against drug trafficking

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday (January 2) to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fire on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.

Trump threatens Iran over protest deaths as unrest flares

Israel says more than 30 aid groups have failed to comply with new rules to register their workers and will have access to Gaza suspended. The banned organizations say the rules will have horrific consequences during deadly floods as it tries to rebuild just months into a fragile ceasefire.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel’s ban on dozens of aid groups from Gaza begins

A U.S. intelligence assessment has determined that Ukraine is not responsible for what Russia claims was a drone strike targeting Vladimir Putin’s residence. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave year-end news conferences amid continuing discussions about a peace deal held up by key unsettled issues.

Moscow

CIA rejects Russia’s claim Ukraine tried to hit Putin’s residence

Zohran Mamdani was officially inaugurated as the mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and first immigrant in half a century to hold the position. The public ceremony at City Hall featured Senator Bernie Sanders administering the oath of office, followed by a community celebration on Broadway.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani inaugurated at New York’s City Hall

Taiwan’s president has struck a defiant tone after China launched fresh military drills near the island. In a New Year’s Day speech, Lai Ching-te said 2026 would be a critical year and vowed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Taipei City

Taiwan president signals tougher stance on Beijing

For several years, the French government has explored ways to limit teenagers’ access to social media due to its harmful impact on mental health, and new guidance from the European Commission could now make it easier for France to pass legislation on the matter.

Breakdown