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Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the US operation in Venezuela on Sunday as NBC News host Kristen Welker pressed him on why they are not seeking congressional approval.
“White House press secretary Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that an invasion of Venezuela would require congressional approval,” Welker told Rubio on “Meet the Press.” “Why hasn’t that happened? And will it happen with any future action that the administration plans to take in Venezuela or elsewhere?”
The US launched a strike in Venezuela on Saturday and kidnapped Nicolás Maduro and his wife as part of Operation Absolute Resolve.
“This was not an act that required congressional approval,” Rubio responded. “Actually, it wouldn’t need congressional approval because this wasn’t an attack. This is not an extended military operation. This is a very precise operation that involved a few hours of operation. It was a very critical operation, too. It was an operation that required all of these conditions to be in place at the right time, in the right place.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media, along with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller (L) and CIA Director John Ratcliffe (C), following the actions of the US military in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
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Rubio also said they can’t afford a potential leak.
“You couldn’t afford to leak. We couldn’t buy anything out there that could endanger the mission and kill people, or kill the mission by choice. We didn’t know if the operation was going to happen. Can you inform something that you’re not sure if it’s going to happen? Because for it to happen, you had to have weather conditions in the area,” he added.
Welker pressed Rubio on whether the administration plans to work with Congress.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department on June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schifelbein)
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“Well, we will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval, but otherwise they will get congressional notice,” Rubio told Welker. “And this is not a job that requires congressional approval. In fact, this is a job like what almost every single president has done in the last 40 years. The difference is if it’s Donald Trump, you know, all these Democrats are crazy.”
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States would “manage the country” in Venezuela until what he described as a safe, fair and prudent transition takes place.
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Trump pitched the role as temporary but necessary, saying the US did not want to let “someone else come in” before conditions stabilized. He said the goal is peace, freedom and justice for the people of Venezuela, including those who fled to the United States and hope to return home.
“We’re going to run the country until the time comes when we can make a safe, proper and prudent transition,” Trump said.
