WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the United States will “run” Venezuela after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation over the weekend sparked bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill, where even some top Republicans were left scratching their heads.
“I think it needs more clarification,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of Senate GOP leadership, told reporters on Monday. “I think the interpretation of ‘run’ has been pretty broad, and I think they’re trying to, in my opinion, trying to narrow it down.”
“It’s all unknowable. I have no idea,” added Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said that properly administering Venezuela would require committing 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground, a policy he did not support.
“The details are very vague to me,” Tillis added.
