STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The seizure of Venezuela's president raises a question for the American president - whether he should have consulted Congress.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Yeah. President Trump did not inform Congress before an operation that the White House calls a law enforcement operation. Democrats saw it as an act of war, and Republicans largely have obeyed the president.
INSKEEP: Lawmakers from both parties received a briefing after the operation, and NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt was waiting outside. Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So the secretary of state goes in - Marco Rubio - secretary of defense, attorney general, CIA director. They brief top lawmakers. And then what did you hear on the way out?
SPRUNT: You know, it really depends on who it was. The partisan divide was on full display. On the one hand, you had Republicans calling it a good meeting, a thorough briefing. They said that the military operation was appropriate from the administration. And then Democrats left the briefing saying that they had more questions than answers. Here's Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He called the administration's plan for running Venezuela vague and unsatisfying.
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CHUCK SCHUMER: I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries. When the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation-building, it always ends up hurting the United States. I left the briefing feeling that it would again.
SPRUNT: You know, there are some meetings where members leave and talk to reporters and you learn a ton of new information. This was not that. A lot of people left saying that they're just not sharing these details from the briefing at this point, but that doesn't mean that they're shying away from talking about their concerns. And a really big point of contention is that Congress wasn't notified in advance of the operation.
INSKEEP: Well, let's talk that through. And we should be clear - president after president after president has taken more and more power from Congress, and Congress has largely rolled over. This Congress has very notably rolled over and said that it has no role to play again and again and again. But how are lawmakers talking about it in this situation?
SPRUNT: Exactly that. I mean, Democrats are concerned about the White House circumventing Congress. They say this is just the latest example of that in a long list of examples. Here's Gregory Meeks, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
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GREGORY MEEKS: It seems, at every turn, Donald Trump is trying to figure out how he avoids Congress. And unfortunately, Congress allows him to do it.
SPRUNT: House Speaker Mike Johnson actually addressed this directly. He said that this operation was not an act of war, it was a legal operation, and that the president has the authority to deploy military forces to address threats to the United States. And as for this claim that Congress is weak? He says, no, not the case.
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MIKE JOHNSON: Look, I can tell you - as speaker of the House, as a person who's in charge of defending Article I powers, I'm just going to insist to you that those have not been traversed in any way by what happened here. The president used his authority under the law.
INSKEEP: Lawmakers today are going to meet with the president. And it's Republicans meeting him, right?
SPRUNT: That's right. And in the past, when the president has joined these types of conference meetings with House Republicans, it becomes almost like a rally. And it's not hard to envision that happening today, given that they're gearing up as a party for the midterm elections. So I expect that Venezuela will be part of the conversation, but not the only topic. There will be a separate all-member briefing on Venezuela tomorrow, and that's where I expect we'll learn more about next steps in the region.
INSKEEP: NPR's Barbara Sprunt, thanks so much.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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