Americas First

Today’s notice: …and we’re back. We missed you! The questions the White House still needs to answer after Venezuela. Republicans in Congress were feeling feisty before the break. Do they feel feistier now? And: Campaigns get ready for a SCOTUS ruling that could change everything.

THE LATEST

The ‘Running’ Men: Who is responsible for what happens in Venezuela now? The simple answer, of course, is Donald Trump. He ordered the U.S. military to capture Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores over the weekend, and he is the one who has promised a new day for Venezuelans and improved security for Americans, too.

But the real answer is that no one really knows. The military operation in Caracas appears to have been an operational success, though it has left political chaos in its wake.

What did Trump mean when he said last night that the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela now?

“It means we set the terms. President Trump sets the terms,” Pete Hegseth told CBS News on January 3. “And ultimately, he’ll decide what the iterations are of that.”

“What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward. And that is, we have leverage,” Marco Rubio said yesterday.

It was one of several Sunday show appearances in which Rubio appeared to backtrack on Trump’s pledge that “we’re going to run the country” during the Saturday press conference announcing the operation.

“People keep fixating on that,” Rubio told NBC, adding, “It’s running policy, the policy with regards to this.” That line was posted by the White House to social media.

Open Tabs Some Dems fume at their party’s response to Maduro capture (Axios); Trump admin sends tough private message to oil companies on Venezuela (Politico); Trump Super PAC Raised More Than $100 Million in Recent Months (NYT); Wall Street Expects the Market to Keep Rallying in 2026 (WSJ)

From the Hill

The White House sidestepping Congress on Venezuela will be a big test for Republicans calling for the legislative branch to flex more of its power, NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson reports.

“Are we better off with Maduro gone? Yes,” retiring Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican, said over the weekend. “But I don’t defend the lack of coordination with Congress.”

Before the holiday break, Congress was roiled with pockets of anger among the majority, with a number of bold rejections of the administration through the House’s discharge petition process. A central question for the next few months: Will more Republicans sound like Bacon when it comes to Venezuela?

As for House Democrats, the party’s caucus meeting Sunday focused on a familiar topic: how to stay unified in their response to the Trump administration. There have already been some divisions within the caucus.

From the campaign trail

“There are going to be people on, frankly, both sides of the aisle trying to convince us that this was somehow justified,” Graham Platner, a Democrat and veteran running for Senate in Maine, wrote to his supporters. “It isn’t.” Several other Democrats vying for progressive voters during this year’s primaries called for impeachment over the weekend, too.

On that list are Rep. Dan Goldman, who is facing a high-profile primary from the left in New York City, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is running for governor in California.

Among potential 2028 presidential contenders, Sen. Chris Murphy sent an email to supporters taking an affordability swipe at Trump. “How does going to war in South America help regular Americans who are struggling?” he wrote.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, a war on terror combat veteran, took a personal stand. “I watched my best friends die because we were lied into a war with Iraq,” he wrote to supporters.

THE BIG ONE

Is MAGA OK with Americas First? “President Trump kept this promise to stop drug traffickers and save American lives,” reads part of a lengthy Republican National Committee memo obtained by Jasmine, which was sent around to MAGA allies after Maduro’s capture.

The phrase “regime change” is notably not in the memo. The talking points? This was a law enforcement action against an illegitimate president.

How will this sit with the MAGA base? If Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is any indication of how the America First true believers are feeling, then Trump’s moves in Venezuela have formed yet another fault line in MAGA world. Greene told NBC News on Sunday that capturing Maduro is the “same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn’t serve the American people.”

On the other side … “President Trump loves to keep our enemies guessing, and to do that requires every option being on the table,” one MAGA strategist told Jasmine.

FWIW, this strategist previously told us that the red line for most of MAGA was putting boots on the ground in Venezuela , which Trump now says he’s not afraid of.

Another possible fault line? There’s a big contingent of MAGA that’s backed the Trump administration’s crackdown on Venezuelan immigrants. The admin said temporary protected status isn’t coming back for Venezuelans, but there’s no word yet on refugee caps.

“Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday.

ON NOTUS PODCAST

From your favorite podcast app: Rep. Jamie Raskin joins NOTUS’ Reese Gorman for today’s On NOTUS podcast. Raskin talks about how experiencing the events of Jan. 6, 2021 shortly after losing his son Tommy to suicide drives his work in Congress.

“Tommy would’ve wanted me, and I feel, in some deep sense wants me to, see this through because he was someone who was looking for a lot more out of democracy, not a lot less out of democracy, and he stood real strong against fascism and authoritarianism,” Raskin told Reese.

Subscribe to On NOTUS on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

NEW ON NOTUS

Speaking of Rep. Raskin: The congressman, who serves as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, released a pair of where-are-they-now reports this morning seeking to identify the public safety implications of the release of more than 1,600 Capitol rioters who were issued a pardon on Trump’s first day back in office, as well as the Trumpworld insiders who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.

Are campaigns about to change forever? Strategists are already sketching out how SCOTUS’ pending ruling on campaign finance may force them to rethink on-the-ground strategies, staffing decisions and how TV and digital ads are funded, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports.

The first step is admitting there’s a problem. Both House and Senate Republicans are acknowledging they have fallen short on party messaging, NOTUS’ Em Luetkemeyer reports. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said messaging around the reconciliation bill was “mishandled, sort of from the beginning,” adding that Republicans’ moniker for it, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” was a mistake.

In case you missed these stories during our brief hiatus:

Trump’s Affordability Message Is Running Up Against His Energy Agenda, by Anna Kramer

These 2026 Primaries Could Define the Democratic and Republican Parties’ Futures, by Alex Roarty

Political Violence Tore Through 2025. Will 2026 Be Any Better? By Daniella Diaz

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Comes for Seniors’ Caretakers, by Jackie Llanos

New Dem Candidate Poised to Enter Ultra-Competitive Maine Congressional Race, by Alex Roarty

U.S. Cities Are Trying to Provide Affordable Housing Solutions as Washington Stalls, by Raymond Fernández

NOT US

• A CIA team, steel doors and a fateful phone call: How the U.S. captured Maduro, by Peter Nicholas, Julie Tsirkin, Matt Dixon, Monica Alba and Courtney Kube for NBC News
  
• Trump Books Aren’t Selling Anymore, by Paul Farhi for The Atlantic
  
• Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Talk of Athens, by Elisabeth Bumiller for The New York Times

Week Ahead

Sometime this week: The Senate is expected to vote on an authorization for Trump’s military action in Venezuela.

Monday: Maduro is set to make his first appearance in Manhattan federal court. Rubio, Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine will be on the Hill to brief members on the Venezuela operation.

It’s also Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s last day in Congress.

Wednesday: Senate Judiciary subcommittee is set to hold a hearing on “rogue judges.” The House Oversight Committee also has a hearing scheduled on massive fraud allegations in Minnesota.

Thursday: The House is expected to hold a floor vote on a three-year extension for expired Affordable Care Act subsidies.

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