Congress Reacts to Maduro’s Arrest With an Eye on the Midterms

Add Venezuela to the long list of polarizing issues that could shape this year’s midterm elections.

Immediate reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision to order US forces to seize Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro Jan. 3 mostly split along party lines. Republicans generally rallied behind Trump and hailed the removal of a ruler they called a “narcoterrorist,” while many Democrats accused Trump of taking an unconstitutional action without authorization from Congress.

Though foreign policy usually doesn’t play a major role in congressional elections, whichever party can win the messaging war could gain a potential wedge issue in an election where control of the House and the Senate are at stake.

Americans generally oppose military intervention in Venezuela, according to surveys conducted before Maduro’s arrest. According to a Quinnipiac poll in December, registered voters by 63%-25% opposed US military action inside Venezuela and by 53%-42% opposed military attacks to kill suspected drug smugglers on boats in international waters.

Subsequent surveys may show more Republicans coming around to supporting the US campaign to oust Maduro now that Trump is associated with it. Trump losing support from base voters over Venezuela is “not likely to happen,” Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver, said on Substack Jan. 3.

“On a matter of complicated foreign policy and military affairs, people’s views are quite malleable,” he said.

Raising Concerns

Some Democrats suggested Trump sought to use Venezuela to deflect attention from an affordability crisis at home.

“It’s going to be our number-one focus in 2026,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of affordability.

If Republicans “really wanted to do what the American people wanted, they’d be focusing on cost of living, not on some escapade in Venezuela which could only lead to trouble,” Schumer said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

“We should be more focused on improving the lives of Ohioans — not Caracas,” ex-Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), who’s seeking to unseat Sen. Jon Husted (R) in a key race in Ohio, said in a statement.

In the Maine Senate contest, Gov. Janet Mills (D) called on Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R) to hold the Trump administration accountable and demand answers about the Venezuela operation. Mills aims to unseat Collins.

Graham Platner, a liberal political newcomer opposing Mills for the Democratic nomination, said the operation was “illegal.”

Collins, the only Republican senator from a state Trump lost in the 2024 election, said in a statement Congress “should have been informed about the operation and needs to be involved as this situation evolves.”

Party Outliers

A rare Democratic statement in favor of Trump’s action came from Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas), a moderate who was pardoned by the president last month and whose Hispanic-majority border district was redrawn to be more Republican-leaning.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) backed Trump’s strikes.

Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Cuellar drew a parallel to the 1990 arrest of Panamanian military dictator Manuel Noriega authorized by President George H.W. Bush and supported by some congressional Democrats.

Maduro’s capture “offers hope to countless victims of narco-violence and supports our friends in Mexico and throughout the region who seek to live without fear, corruption, or criminal control,” Cuellar said in a statement.

Other Democrats offered limited praise, based on their district’s population.

Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), whose central Florida district has more Venezuelan-Americans than any other, praised Maduro’s capture as “a major step” toward freedom but criticized the lack of congressional approval for the operation.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian anti-interventionist who’s clashed with Trump, raised questions about the constitutionality of Maduro’s capture. Massie faces opposition in the May Republican primary from Trump-endorsed candidate Ed Gallerin, a former Navy SEAL who praised the president’s Venezuela policy.

Two Republican lawmakers who expressed some qualms about Trump’s action won’t be in Congress for much longer.

Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), an Air Force veteran and Armed Services Committee member who’s not seeking re-election, in a statement praised the operation as “great” for Venezuela but said he was concerned “Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who’s resigning Monday after falling out of favor with Trump, said the Venezuela action didn’t adhere to “America First” principles.

Seeking Information

Lawmakers from both parties are seeking briefings about the operation and clarification about what comes next in Venezuela, including what Trump meant when he said the US would “run” the oil-producing nation for an indefinite period.

“Donald Trump claims that he’s going to run Venezuela. He’s done a terrible job running the United States of America,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.

Schumer said the Senate would vote this week on a resolution that would constrain the administration’s power to take military action in Venezuela without congressional authorization. The resolution backed by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would need more Republican support to advance in the Senate, where the GOP has a 53-47 edge.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former senator, said Sunday that Maduro’s arrest was “a law enforcement function to capture an indicted drug trafficker” that didn’t require congressional approval.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said congressional approval was not needed.

Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/Bloomberg

“We will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval,” Rubio said on “Meet the Press.”

In November, the Senate by a 49-51 vote blocked a resolution (S.J. Res. 90) to bar the Trump administration from conducting military strikes against suspected drug traffickers within or outside of Venezuela without an explicit authorization from Congress.

Paul and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) were the only Republicans who voted to advance the resolution.