Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accompanied by senior administration officials, briefed Congressional leaders late Monday on the ongoing U.S. military operation in Venezuela.

The session comes amid growing unease that President Donald Trump is escalating U.S. involvement in the South American nation without clear legislative backing or a defined governance strategy.

Republican lawmakers attending the private meeting largely signalled support for Trump’s decision to target Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Democrats, however, emerged with unresolved questions, particularly over the continued deployment of U.S. naval vessels near Venezuelan waters and the administration’s encouragement of American investment in the country’s struggling oil sector.

A war powers resolution, designed to restrict military action in Venezuela without Congressional approval, is scheduled for a Senate vote this week.

"We do not anticipate the presence of ground troops," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said following the briefing. He added that any new Venezuelan leadership must be prevented from engaging in narcoterrorism or drug trafficking to the United States, a concern that underpinned Trump’s prior campaign of targeted strikes, which resulted in more than 115 fatalities.