ICYMI: Bennet Fights Back Against Trump’s Unauthorized Military Deployment and Operations in Venezuela

Jan 9, 2026| Press Releases

Denver - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, continues to fight back against President Trump's unauthorized military deployment and operations in Venezuela.

"Nicolás Maduro was an illegitimate, brutal dictator who lost, and then stole, Venezuela's 2024 elections - and there's no doubt as to the bravery and skill of our military and intelligence personnel who conducted the operation to apprehend him. With Maduro now in U.S. custody, however, the Trump administration has provided the American people with no coherent justification for keeping 15,000 U.S. troops and dozens of U.S. military assets in the region," said Bennet. "The President says this is about securing Venezuela's oil, but that is by no means a legitimate justification for putting boots on the ground or keeping an armada off of Venezuela's coast. I will continue fighting to prevent the Trump administration from recklessly marching the U.S. military and intelligence community into Venezuela again with no clear exit strategy and against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Americans who did not vote for this dangerous approach to foreign policy."

Slammed So-Called "Peace President" on Senate Floor

Bennet took to the floor this week to criticize President Trump's lack of transparency around his actions in Venezuela and to call for aggressive Congressional oversight of this administration's plans for the country.

"Despite the President's promises to not start new wars or pursue regime change operations abroad […] today there are 15,000 brave U.S. troops and an American armada off Venezuela's coast, all without congressional authorization. And the President is threatening more attacks on more countries[.] [E]very time you turn the TV on, it's another country: Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Greenland - part of Denmark, a NATO ally," Bennet said.

"Congress has not authorized any of these dangerous potential operations, which risk destroying alliances and relationships that have long kept the American people safe. The Trump administration, however, continues to trample on our constitution with unauthorized military actions while threatening others, weakening our democracy and making the world more dangerous in the process."

"I think it's really important for us […] to hold public oversight hearing[s] in which the administration explains [to] the American people what they plan to do with the thousands of U.S. troops off Venezuela's coast, with their plan to 'run Venezuela' and with the regime in Caracas, over which they now claim to have control."

Bennet's full remarks can be viewed HERE.

Led Letter Demanding Public Oversight Hearings

Bennet led eight of his Democratic Senate colleagues on a letter to bipartisan leadership of the Senate Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Judiciary, and Intelligence Committees calling for public oversight hearings examining President Trump's January 3 military operation in Venezuela and his future plans for the country.

Specifically, Bennet called for answers on the President's legal justification for this operation, whether the President plans to again deploy U.S. troops in Venezuela, what his plans are to "run Venezuela," and if he will subsidize the expansion of U.S. oil companies' footprint in Venezuela as he promised, among other questions. Bennet also noted that President Trump's intervention in Venezuela deviates from decades of U.S. foreign policy and risks implicating the United States in a dangerous scheme to run Venezuela "alongside elements of an authoritarian regime, seemingly for the purpose of exploiting Venezuela's oil."

"The Trump administration has, thus far, failed to explain its plans for Venezuela's future, how this misadventure will end, and whether it plans to use the U.S. military to exploit Venezuela's oil for our own economic purposes. Public hearings would provide the answers the American people deserve," Bennet and the Senators wrote.

"Congress must fulfill its constitutional duty to conduct oversight and reassert its role in future decisions regarding Venezuela. The American people expect that we will do our jobs on a bipartisan basis, and we encourage you to convene hearings on these questions and related issues without further delay."

A copy of the letter is available HERE.

Co-Sponsored War Powers Vote to Block Unauthorized War in Venezuela

Bennet joined Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)'s War Powers Resolution to block President Trump from using the U.S. military to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress. On January 9, the Senate voted on and advanced that resolution by a vote of 52-47, with bipartisan support.

In November 2025, Bennet voted for a similar bipartisan Senate resolution to prevent President Trump from pursuing an unauthorized war with Venezuela, a resolution most Republicans blocked at the time.

Bennet's statement on the vote is available HERE.

Legislation to Stop Trump From Further Unauthorized Military Operations in Venezuela

Additionally, Bennet introduced legislation to bar President Trump from carrying out further military or intelligence operations in Venezuela without Congressional authorization. Nothing in this legislation would limit the United States from defending itself against any attack by Venezuela, or from securing any future U.S. diplomatic presence in Venezuela. It would not limit routine intelligence activities.

The text of the bill is available HERE.

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