Democrats say Trump administration has not briefed Congress on Venezuela operation

Congressional Democrats said on Sunday they had not been briefed by the Trump administration about the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro carried out a day earlier. Representative Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN he was a member of the Gang of Eight and had "yet to get a phone call from anybody in the administration." The Gang of Eight refers to congressional leaders and intelligence committee chairs and ranking members who are typically briefed on classified matters.

Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries had asked for immediate briefings and the administration's plan "to prevent a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster that plunges us into another endless war or one that trades one corrupt dictator for another." Senator Schumer asked on ABC, "How long do they intend to be there?

How many troops do we need? How much is it going to cost, what are the boundaries?" Mr. Jeffries, on NBC, said "Donald Trump claims that he’s going to run Venezuela" and that "he’s done a terrible job running the United States of America." At a news conference in Palm Beach, Fla., Mr.

Trump said he had circumvented Congress because he did not trust its members to keep his plans confidential, saying "Congress has a tendency to leak." Democrats said they would prioritize legislative action to reign in Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, House Intelligence Committee, Hakeem Jeffries