Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks from the chamber to speak with reporters after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
But a handful of lawmakers did, and questions still lingered about what exactly would come next for U.S. involvement in the country, if other similar operations would be carried out across the globe, and who exactly was running Venezuela.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that there was no expectation that the U.S. would be on the ground, nor would there be any "direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the interim government to to get that going."
"We are not at war," Johnson said. "We do not have U.S. armed forces in Venezuela, and we are not occupying that country."
"This is not a regime change," he continued. "This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime. The interim government is stood up now, and we are hopeful that they will be able to correct their action."
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast, R-Fl., echoed Johnson, and reiterated that the operation was a "specific law enforcement function that took place that took a significant obstacle out of the way for the Venezuelan people to go chart a new future."
NAVY SECRETARY PRAISES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S MADURO CAPTURE AS 'MASTERCLASS IN PRECISION'
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., questions Russ Vought, not pictured, in a Senate hearing in 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Schumer, along with Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., plan to force a vote later in the week on a war powers resolution that, if passed, would require the administration to get congressional approval before taking further military action in Venezuela.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he was satisfied with the briefing, and that "it was a very comprehensive discussion."
Lawmakers will get another bite at the apple later in the week when Trump officials again return to Congress to provide a full briefing to lawmakers on Operation Absolute Resolve.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, lauded the military for a "brilliant execution" of the mission, and noted that the region was better off without Maduro.
But, like Schumer, he was still searching for the next step.
"The question becomes, as policymakers, what happens the day after," Warner said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/johnson-insists-us-not-war-after-closed-door-venezuela-briefing-divides-lawmakers