Fresh off an initial win on the Senate floor to curtail President Donald Trump’s war powers in Venezuela, Senate Democrats are pressing Republicans to hold public hearings on both the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the administration’s future plans for the country, according to a letter first viewed by Semafor.
In the missive to Republican leaders on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Judiciary and Intelligence committees, nine Democrats led by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., say the public deserves “clarity as to why the president put our servicemembers in harm’s way and what his plan is in Venezuela moving forward.”
Congress was privately briefed on the Maduro operation and next steps this week.
But the Democrats say that there’s more to do: “Congress must fulfill its constitutional duty to conduct oversight and reassert its role in future decisions regarding Venezuela.”