The administration says the operation did not require congressional approval and that it will seek approval for actions that do require it; otherwise Congress will receive notification.

True

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Determine whether the operation legally required congressional approval and whether Congress was notified as stated.

Source summary
Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the Trump Administration’s operation that apprehended Nicolás Maduro, calling him an indicted narcoterrorist and illegitimate leader and saying the U.S. will not allow the Western Hemisphere to become a safe haven for drug traffickers, Iranian proxies, or other adversaries. Rubio emphasized the operation was focused on drug trafficking networks, denied it constituted a war or extended invasion, and said U.S. forces were on the ground only briefly. He reiterated continued measures such as an oil quarantine, targeting sanctioned vessels, and that the administration will use all available options until Venezuela changes course.
Latest fact check

In a televised interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the action "was not an action that required congressional approval" because it was not an invasion or extended military operation. In the same exchange, he added that the administration "will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval" and that otherwise Congress "will get congressional notification." The official State Department transcript and NBC's transcript both record Rubio making these points, and independent reporting repeats the same formulation. Verdict: True, because multiple primary and reputable sources show that senior administration officials explicitly framed the operation as not needing congressional approval and pledged to seek approval for actions that do require it while otherwise providing congressional notification, matching the claim exactly.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 05, 2026, 04:03 AMTrue
    In a televised interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the action "was not an action that required congressional approval" because it was not an invasion or extended military operation. In the same exchange, he added that the administration "will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval" and that otherwise Congress "will get congressional notification." The official State Department transcript and NBC's transcript both record Rubio making these points, and independent reporting repeats the same formulation. Verdict: True, because multiple primary and reputable sources show that senior administration officials explicitly framed the operation as not needing congressional approval and pledged to seek approval for actions that do require it while otherwise providing congressional notification, matching the claim exactly.
  2. Original article · Jan 04, 2026

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