House Speaker Mike Johnson says the U.S. operation in Venezuela is not a regime change, but a demand for a change in behavior by the regime still in power despite Nicolás Maduro's ousting. CBS News' Nikole Killion reports.

Washington

Lawmakers in Washington, DC remain divided over the U.S. military's intervention in Venezuela and the future of the country's leadership following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro. After a private briefing, House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized that the U.S. seeks a change in regime behavior rather than outright regime change, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned against the risks of U.S.-led nation building.

Further briefings are scheduled for a broader group of lawmakers, with concerns persisting about the presence of Maduro loyalists in the interim government and the scope of U.S. involvement. President Trump is also expected to discuss the situation in Venezuela with House Republicans during an election year retreat.

House Speaker Johnson reacts to Venezuela briefing

Welcome back. Lawmakers remain starkly divided over the U.S. military's intervention in Venezuela and its implications for the country's future. Following yesterday's private briefing on Venezuela, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shared sharply opposing views about their expectations for what's to come in the wake of Nicolas Maduro's ouster. This is not a regime change. This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime. The interim government is stood up now, and we are hopeful that they will be able to correct their actions. When the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation building, it always ends up hurting the United States. CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nicole Killian joins us from Capitol Hill to digest some of this. Good morning, Nicole. I'm wondering what else we might learn from lawmakers after that private briefing, because we might expect that Democrats and Republicans are on opposing sides of what to do next. But earlier this morning, you were telling me they do seem to all agree that Maduro should have been ousted. Yeah, that's right. Well, what I can also tell you is that we're expecting more briefings here on Capitol Hill. In fact, a short time ago, we learned that there will be a briefing for all senators tomorrow morning with many of those same briefers, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. We're also expecting a similar briefing for House members, according to Speaker Mike Johnson, who brought that up in his comments last night. So there will be an opportunity for more lawmakers to ask questions. Obviously, the briefing yesterday was just for congressional leaders, the Gang of Eight, as it's known, as well as the heads of some of the committees of jurisdiction. So these two briefings will be expanded to a much broader group. But in terms of those next steps, as you mentioned, you know, there is some difference of opinion and concern on the part of some Republicans and Democrats about what lies ahead, what the president meant when he said the U.S. would run Venezuela. Take a listen to what the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told me following last night's briefing. Does that mean you are comfortable with elements of the Maduro regime remaining in power at this time? And, secondly, did the briefers rule out any further military action? So I am not going to tell you what was ruled out or not ruled out by the briefers, because it's not for attribution or whether it was even discussed, right? But what I will tell you, in response to your question, is there's a preference and there's what is the policy at the time. Everybody would love it to be the case that the people that were in power beneath Maduro were not Maduro loyalists. That would be everybody's preference, but that is not the reality. So as you heard, Chair Massey, you know, even as some lawmakers praise Maduro's capture, again, you know, in terms of this interim government, many of those Maduro loyalists still remain in power, including the vice president, Del C. Rodriguez. But what Mass went to point out is that, you know, it is hard to take out an entire government, if you will. That was not the scope of this operation that took place over the weekend. So you do need people in place who know the country and who know how to keep the lights on, as he put it. Interesting points there. And, Nicole, I know that shortly here, President Trump is expected to meet with, let's see, House Republicans to discuss their election year agenda, what to achieve before perhaps the midterms. What might we expect the message to be from President Trump? Yeah, that's right. Well, the president actually posted on Truth Social a short time ago saying that he was in route to this retreat, which, interestingly, is taking place at the Kennedy Center or the Trump Kennedy Center, as he put it. Obviously, there was a board vote last month that was controversial in terms of trying to change the name of the Kennedy Center. But that being said, that is where this retreat will take place. President saying that he is looking forward to speaking to House Republicans, who he truly loves. But, look, in talking to Speaker Mike Johnson just yesterday, I, too, asked him if the situation in Venezuela would likely come up. Obviously, that's separate from, you know, what's happening domestically with respect to election year politics. But he did say that he expects the ongoing situation in Venezuela to come up as well, Errol. Yeah, and as soon as we get a glimpse or a hint of what the president is saying to Republicans, we'll bring that to our viewers. Nicole, Killian, thank you for the preview. We appreciate it.

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