Trump Officials Prepare for What Could Be Hostile Briefing as Lawmakers Demand Answers About Venezuela’s Future

Top members of the Trump administration will travel to Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning to brief members of Congress on the future of Venezuela and President Trump’s vision for the western hemisphere. The most recent briefing on Monday was only for those who sat on national security-related committees, though the Wednesday meeting will be open to all 535 lawmakers. Democrats have been incensed since the capture of President Maduro on Saturday morning due to the confusion around what Venezuela’s future will look like with Mr. Trump taking a heavy hand. Even more concerning to lawmakers is the president’s insistence that he has his sights on other nations. “Their plan for the U.S. ‘running Venezuela’ is vague, based on wishful thinking, and unsatisfying,” Senator Chuck Schumer told reporters after attending the Monday briefing at the Capitol. “I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries.”A slew of top Trump officials are expected to attend the Wednesday briefing to answer lawmakers’ questions. On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Dan Cain, and the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, all participated in the more intimate briefing on Monday. A major topic of discussion on Wednesday will likely be Mr. Trump’s announcement that the Venezuelan government, led by Mr. Maduro’s own vice president, has allegedly agreed to send tens of millions of barrels to the United States government, the revenue of which Mr. Trump will control. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Mr. Trump declared on Truth Social on Tuesday night. “It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”What follows in the coming weeks will be a number of public hearings and votes in Congress will come up which will easily keep Mr. Trump’s adventures in the spotlight. Most concerning for some on Capitol Hill is the president’s threat to try to take over Greenland, which is currently a territory of America’s NATO ally, Denmark. After top White House aide Stephen Miller refused to rule out a military invasion of Greenland, Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said he would bring up a resolution to preemptively block Mr. Trump from being able to deploy troops to the sparsely populated island territory. “WAKE UP. Trump is telling us exactly what he wants to do. We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim,” Mr. Gallego wrote on X Tuesday. “I’m introducing a resolution to block Trump from invading Greenland. No more forever wars.”It isn’t just Democrats who want to stay as far away from Greenland as possible. Congressman Don Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, said on X Tuesday that NATO must be respected. “Greenland is a part of NATO, and so are we. Greenland decides its future. Stop the baloney,” he wrote to one conservative influencer who said America should control the island.

Trump Officials Prepare for What Could Be Hostile Briefing as Lawmakers Demand Answers About Venezuela’s Future

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