‘Don’t expect troops on the ground,’ Johnson says after Venezuela briefing

U.S. troops will have a limited role in Venezuela, Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday, after top deputies to President Donald Trump briefed senior congressional leaders on the weekend operation that removed leader Nicolas Maduro from power.

“We don’t expect troops on the ground,” Johnson told reporters after the two-hour evening briefing on Capitol Hill. “We don't expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the … the interim government to get that going. I expect that there will be an election called in Venezuela. … It should happen in short order.”

The closed-door session was the first time top Trump administration officials briefed a group of lawmakers in person since the surprise Saturday morning raid that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife. Both pleaded not guilty Monday to drug trafficking and other charges in a federal courtroom in Manhattan.

Hours later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine met with top party leaders, as well as the bipartisan leaders of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

So far, the response to the administration’s actions in Venezuela has largely split along party lines. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after the meeting that the briefing was “extensive” but it raised “far more questions than it answered.”

“Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague … based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,” Schumer said.

Schumer added that he asked for “assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries” but didn’t receive any.

Johnson, meanwhile, sought to play down the broader implications of the military raid — and tamp down criticism that Trump and his deputies reneged on pledges not to pursue regime change in Venezuela.

“The way this is being described — this is not a regime change,” Johnson said. “This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.”

The administration will brief all House members Wednesday, Johnson added. The Senate is also expected to get a briefing for all of its members that day, though that hasn’t been finalized.

In addition to the operation over the weekend, administration officials and lawmakers in the room discussed explosions in Caracas that reportedly took place as the briefing unfolded, according to two people with knowledge of the briefing.

A White House official granted anonymity to comment on the developing situation said the administration is closely tracking the reports of gunfire in Venezuela and that the U.S. is not involved.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.), asked about the explosions, said in an interview that the briefers discussed everything “before, during and after” the U.S. operation. He later added, “I think it would be unreasonable to think there aren't disruptors there,” referencing the governments of Iran, China and Russia.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she had some of her questions answered but added that “there are a significant number of questions that still need to be answered.”

Asked if she believed that the Trump administration is considering similar actions in other countries, she said, “I don't think that's clear.”

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), voiced concerns about the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela following Maduro's ouster.

"The military did its job. It had a plan," Meeks told reporters. "I don't like the orders that they were given. But I can't say the same for the plan after."

But Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “we have a lot of professionals running this, and I have confidence.”

Some Republicans said they want more clarity from the administration on its ultimate endgame.

“I've got to see what strategy there is,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who did not attend the briefing. “What the president was trying to communicate is hopefully facilitating a peaceful transition of power. We'll have to wait and see. I don't know how you do that without boots on the ground. And I don't support boots on the ground.”

Other lawmakers grumbled not about the overall strategy but about the administration’s decision to brief lawmakers piecemeal instead of all at once. The Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the DOJ and FBI, jointly fumed about being cut out of the initial briefing despite administration officials describing Maduro’s capture as a law enforcement operation.

“This business of coming over and just talking to some of us, I think is a special kind of stupid,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview Monday. “They need to sit down with every member of the Senate and explain what’s going on.”

Calen Razor and Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.