Trump officials to brief congressional leaders on Maduro arrest operation

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine and Attorney General Pam Bondi are expected to attend the briefing.

Published: January 5, 2026 6:34pm

Several members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet will meet Congressional leaders Monday night to brief them on the Venezuela land operation over the weekend that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The U.S. Army's Delta Force, which is an elite special forces unit, reportedly conducted the Saturday operation to arrest Maduro and his wife, who have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine and Attorney General Pam Bondi are expected to brief the top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and House and Senate Armed Services committees.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are also expected to be at the briefing, alongside top lawmakers on Congress' intelligence committees.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin slammed the administration for not including them in the briefing, citing the Justice Department's request for the law enforcement operation, which is under their purview.

“There is no legitimate basis for excluding the Senate Judiciary Committee from this briefing," the senators said in a statement. "The administration’s refusal to acknowledge our Committee’s indisputable jurisdiction in this matter is unacceptable and we are following up to ensure the Committee receives warranted information regarding Maduro’s arrest.”

Trump is also expected to talk about the operation during the House Republican retreat at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, and Thune and Schumer are expected to schedule an all-senators briefing this week, according to Politico

The briefings come after lawmakers have raised questions about the legality of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. The administration has pushed back on the questions, arguing it was a law enforcement operation to arrest Maduro rather than an invasion or act of war.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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