Top officials from President Donald Trump's administration briefed congressional leaders on the U.S. government’s plans for the future of Venezuela in a Monday evening meeting on Capitol Hill.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials discussed Venezuela with House and Senate leadership, as well as top members of the intelligence committees and national security committees.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said after receiving the briefing he does not expect the United States to deploy troops to Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer said the briefing “posed far more questions than it answered.”
Democrat Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Mark Warner echoed those concerns, saying the meeting lacked clarity. Shaheen said that “there are a significant number of questions that still need to be answered.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the briefing was “not good” and offered little clarity about the administration’s next steps in Venezuela.
Meeks added his takeaway was that Trump “has the option of putting troops on the ground” and is “not going to take anything off the table.”
House Speaker Johnson stressed that U.S. actions there are “not a regime change” operation.
Johnson made the remarks after emerging from the nearly two-hour briefing.
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