Republican lawmakers are strongly backing President Donald Trump’s administration following a U.S. military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., a member of the House Armed Services Committee whose district includes a large Venezuelan refugee community, said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the operation concluded.
“President Trump has changed the course of history in our hemisphere. Our country & the world are safer for it. Today’s decisive action is this hemisphere’s equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall,” Gimenez wrote in a statement on X.
Rubio briefed multiple members of Congress in the aftermath of the operation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he spoke with Rubio and welcomed the capture of Maduro, adding that senators are expected to receive formal briefings when Congress returns from its two-week recess starting Monday.
“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,” Thune said. “I am grateful for the brave men and women of our armed forces who carried out this necessary action.”
Thune added that he looks forward to further briefings on the operation as part of what he described as a broader counternarcotics strategy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also confirmed that the administration is coordinating briefings for lawmakers as Congress reconvenes.
“Today’s military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives,” Johnson said. “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.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Rubio confirmed that Maduro is in U.S. custody and will face justice.
“The interim government in Venezuela must now decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world,” Cotton said. “I urge them to choose wisely.”
Some Republicans who initially raised constitutional concerns said those issues were addressed after speaking with Rubio. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questioned the legal justification for the action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.
Lee later said Rubio informed him that Maduro was arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges, and that the military action was conducted to protect those executing the arrest warrant.
“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee wrote.
Other GOP leaders voiced unqualified support. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said the operation was another example of Trump acting to protect the U.S.
“The operation carried out last night capturing Nicolás Maduro is another win by President Trump to protect our homeland and clean up the backyard of the United States,” Mast told Fox News Digital.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., called the arrest historic, comparing it to the 1989 capture of Manuel Noriega.
“The arrest of Cartel de los Soles leader Nicolás Maduro shows clearly that the U.S. will not allow cartels to take over countries in our shared neighborhood,” Crawford said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said Maduro worked with U.S. adversaries, supported drug cartels, and fueled narcotics trafficking that harmed Americans.
“President Trump took on this threat head-on today,” Emmer told Fox News Digital. “God bless our troops and law enforcement who conducted this mission.”
House GOP Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., praised U.S. forces and intelligence agencies for what she called a successful operation leading to Maduro’s arrest and indictment.
The strong Republican support contrasts with criticism from many Democrats, who accused Trump of violating the U.S. Constitution and entering an unlawful conflict with Venezuela.
Trump earlier announced on Truth Social that the United States had carried out a “large-scale strike against Venezuela” and said Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.
Attorney General Pam Bondi later confirmed that both were indicted in the Southern District of New York, one of the nation’s largest federal prosecutorial offices.
