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On Saturday, elite American military operators descended upon an
indicted narco-terrorist and extracted him from Venezuela, delivering
him to New York to face the charges. That indicted narco-terrorist just happened to be Nicolbs Maduro, the dictator who calls himself
opresident.o

With Maduro gone, Democrats who once called for his ouster are suddenly
up in arms, simply because President Donald Trump is the one who made
it happen.

For those who donAt spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television
u and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a weekAs worth
of network and cable news media spin u The Daily Wire has compiled a
short summary of what you may have missed.

Across the major legacy networks, Democrats complained about the fact
that the Trump administration had sent military operators in to extract
Maduro u and media personalities quickly joined them in questioning
whether or not the Trump administration had the authority to take that
action without first getting congressional approval.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer u who criticized Trump in 2020 for
not ending MaduroAs regime u led the charge on ABCAs oThis Week,o
speaking with Democratic strategist-turned-ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Schumer conceded that Maduro was a bad actor but
claimed that the Trump administration had still been coloring outside
the lines in going to get him.

oLook, Maduro is a horrible, horrible person,o Schumer said. oBut you
donAt treat lawlessness with other lawlessness. And thatAs whatAs
happened here. The American people, this morning, are scratching their
heads in wonderment and in fear of what the president has proposed:
aThe United States will run Venezuela.A We have learned through the
years [that] when America tries to do regime change and nation-building
in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and
dollars.o

Stephanopoulos pointed out the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio
said the Trump administration had the authority to move on Maduro, and
Schumer protested: oItAs a violation of the law to do what they did
without getting the authorization of Congress.o

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticizes the U.S strike
in Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro: oItAs a violation of the law to do what they did
without getting the authorization of Congress.o
https://t.co/jbZuHwZD9A pic.twitter.com/nNEQWg1d7V

u This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 4, 2026

CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan brought in Senator Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), who became a household name when he traveled to El Salvador to retrieve MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen also
complained that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority
in taking action in Venezuela without asking Congress first.

He predicted that in reaction, Congress owill have a vote on a war
powers resolution probably as early as this week, if not next.o

Sen. Chris Van Hollen says President Trump does not have the
legal authority to attack Venezuela and says heAs sure that
Congress owill have a vote on a war powers resolution probably
as early as this week, if not next.o

oFor the most part, Republicans are happy to give Donalda
pic.twitter.com/J4kq7RraNC

u Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 4, 2026

On oThe Sunday Briefing,o Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said much the same
to Fox News host Jacqui Heinrich, after first claiming that more
traditional avenues like sanctions hadnAt worked on Maduro because
American allies hated Trump too much to join the United States in
enforcing them. Then he, too, argued that Trump should have come to
Congress for approval before sending military operators into Venezuela.

Kaine, as recently as 2024, had called Maduro an illegitimate leader
and demanded a opeaceful transfer of power.o

WOW. Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine just got UTTERLY EMBARRASSED on
national television!

oIf Dems cared SO MUCH about process, why didnAt THEY do
anything to bring Maduro to justice when THEY were in charge?
The guyAs been under indictment since 2020!o
pic.twitter.com/aoPkS0qMlC

u Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 4, 2026

More of the same came from Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), who said in
2019 that Trump would move to topple Maduro because ogetting rid of
Maduro is good for the United States.o

On CNNAs oState of the Union,o however, he said TrumpAs actions had
been owildly illegalo and claimed that he was only moving on Venezuela
to gain control of natural resources for his own personal financial
gain.

Sen. Chris Murphy tells Dana Bash that TrumpAs attack on
Venezuela oseems to be mostly about oil and natural resourceso
and is oall about making money for his friends.o
pic.twitter.com/EvylbRzl5B

u State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 4, 2026

But Rubio explained in several interviews on Sunday why the Trump administration had not asked Congress for permission to act u or even
notified Congress prior to doing so u and why they hadnAt been bound to
do so.

oThis was not an action that required congressional approval. In fact,
it couldnAt require congressional approval because this was not an
invasion. This is not an extended military operation,o he told NBC News
anchor Kristen Welker on oMeet the Press.o

oWe will seek congressional approval for actions that require
congressional approval. Otherwise, theyAll get congressional
notification.o

oThis was not an action that required congressional approvala
This was not an invasion,o says @SecRubio.

oWe will seek congressional approval for actions that require
congressional approval. Otherwise, theyAll get congressional
notification.o pic.twitter.com/up6ZEJtmXd

u Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 4, 2026

On ABCAs oThis Week,o he added, oYou canAt congressionally notify
something like this for two reasons. Number one, it will leak. ItAs as
simple as that. And number two, itAs an exigent circumstance,o Rubio explained.

Sec. Rubio responds to criticism of the lack of congressional
authorization in the U.S. operation in Venezuela: oYou canAt
congressionally notify something like this for two reasons.
Number one, it will leak. ItAs as simple as that. And number
two, itAs an exigent circumstance.o pic.twitter.com/qIBPiRuDYk

u This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 4, 2026

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley addressed
that point as well, responding specifically to the comments made by Tim
Kaine, and argued that not only was the Trump administrationAs action
legal, it was no different than actions taken by previous Democratic presidents.

oSen. Tim Kaine (D., Va) told Fox that othe Constitution does not give
the President the right to initiate military action.o That is entirely incorrect. The Constitution does not give a president the right to
declare war. However, presidents are allowed to use military forces
without such a declarationao Turley stated, adding, oDemocratic
presidents routinely launched attacks in other countries without any
objection from Sen. Kaine. Obama not only killed an American citizen
not charge with any crime but attacked LibyaAs capital and attacked its military to cause a regime change without consulting with Congress.o
--
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
love this country.

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