MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now to the other major story we're following - the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela. The administration has unveiled a three-pronged plan for the country. It starts with a U.S. quarantine that includes Washington's control of Venezuelan oil sales. The details emerge from a closed-door briefing that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave lawmakers after the weekend military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Congress was not told about it in advance. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt reports on what lawmakers learned yesterday.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: These were the first comprehensive briefings for rank-and-file members who've been waiting for days to hear directly from the administration about the operation that led to Maduro's capture.
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MIKE JOHNSON: We had, I believe, a full house. I think almost every member of the House, Republican and Democrat, were present today.
SPRUNT: That's House Speaker Mike Johnson, one of the many top Republicans who support President Trump's actions. Rubio told lawmakers that main next goals are stabilization of Venezuela, economic recovery for the country and transition. He did not elaborate on what that transition would look like. As for U.S. involvement going forward, Johnson added the White House's goal is not to have U.S. boots on the ground.
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JOHNSON: That is not the administration's objective, that is not their expectation.
SPRUNT: As lawmakers emerge from the classified meeting, the partisan divide was on full display. Republicans praised the operation. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin even said it was one of the best briefings he's ever received in Congress.
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MARKWAYNE MULLIN: What we want to do is give the best opportunity for the Venezuelan people to take back their country and put it back in the democracy that they lost 25 years ago, and there was a full plan, full effort.
SPRUNT: But Democrats said the exact opposite - that they didn't hear a full plan.
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SETH MOULTON: There are a lot of questions from both Democrats and Republicans about what comes next, what the timeline is. And they basically refused to answer any of those questions.
SPRUNT: That's Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton.
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MOULTON: I think the military clearly had a plan, but I think this administration is completely winging it.
SPRUNT: Here's how Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to that exact critique.
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MARCO RUBIO: I used to be a senator, too. That's what you always say when it's the other party. The bottom line is, we've gone into great detail with him about the planning. We've described it to him.
SPRUNT: But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wants more. And not in classified briefings, he wants public hearings.
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CHUCK SCHUMER: We need answers to these questions, and we need them made publicly.
SPRUNT: Schumer's repeatedly cited concern about the administration taking similar actions in other countries and said he's dissatisfied with the answers given to him by administration officials. Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, the Capital. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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