President Donald Trump came under fire on Monday from both parties' leadership in the Senate Judiciary Committee over his refusal to include them in the briefing about the operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.
In recent months, Democrats have complained that the administration is sidelining their elected officials from participating in Venezuela briefings while keeping Republicans in the loop. This time, however, Trump is simply not including the Judiciary Committee at all, prompting Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) to release an outraged statement.
The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted that the operation was a law enforcement action, not a military one, partly because the former would not require congressional approval — but, Grassley and Durbin pointed out, if it's a law enforcement action, the Judiciary Committee should at least be briefed on things.
"President Trump and Secretary Rubio have stated that this was a law enforcement operation that was made at the Department of Justice's (DOJ) request, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)," they wrote. "The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over DOJ, FBI and DEA, and all three agencies are led by individuals who our Committee vetted and processed. The Attorney General herself will be present at today's briefing."
"There is no legitimate basis for excluding the Senate Judiciary Committee from this briefing," they wrote. "The administration's refusal to acknowledge our Committee's indisputable jurisdiction in this matter is unacceptable and we are following up to ensure the Committee receives warranted information regarding Maduro's arrest."
The capture of Maduro, while it has been broadly met with support from the GOP, has caused divisions among key pro-Trump factions who backed the president as a noninterventionist, and the administration's approach to the transition of power has generated further controversy.
