Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer addressed on Sunday the beautiful U.S. strike on Venezuela, saying the seize of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was illegal.
“Maduro is a horrible, horrible particular person, however you do not deal with lawlessness with different lawlessness, and that is what’s occurred right here,” Schumer advised “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos. “There isn’t a authority … they didn’t simply do ships off the water. They went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian in addition to navy locations, and it is a violation of the legislation to do what they did with out getting the authorization of Congress.”
Regardless of President Donald Trump’s claims on Saturday that the USA was “going to run” Venezuela “till such time as we are able to do a protected, correct and considered transition,” the Democratic senator advised Stephanopoulos that “no person is aware of” who is definitely working Venezuela proper now.
“The American individuals this morning, George, are scratching their heads in wonderment and in worry of what the president has proposed,” Schumer mentioned. “We now have discovered by means of the years when America tries to do regime change and nation constructing on this approach, the American individuals pay the value in each blood and in {dollars}.”
Schumer expressed skepticism that U.S. oil firms might repair Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a declare Trump made after the strike.
“It appears kind of a back-of-the envelope operation, at the very least by what they’ve advised individuals,” Schumer mentioned. “These oil fields have been in disrepair for years. We do not know how lengthy it will take, how a lot it will value, and whether or not we’d like navy troops guarding the oil fields whereas we do it.”
Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer speaks with ABC Information whereas showing on This Week, Jan. 4, 2026.
ABC Information
Schumer additionally criticized Trump’s involvement in Venezuela after his frequent marketing campaign promise to keep away from abroad conflicts.
“The American individuals are fearful that that is creating an countless battle. The very factor that Donald Trump campaigned towards over and over and over was no extra countless wars. And proper now, we’re headed proper into one, with no boundaries, with no dialogue,” he argued.
Trump’s declaration follows the in a single day mission during which a U.S. navy extraction group, supported by over 150 navy plane, made their approach into Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and reached the compound the place Maduro and his spouse have been staying. The group then introduced the pair to the USS Iwo Jima warship earlier than bringing them to New York Metropolis the place Maduro is dealing with fees of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.
Listed below are extra highlights from Schumer’s interview.
The expired Obamacare insurance coverage premiums
“We handed laws to resume them for 3 years, and the Republicans blocked it in each single approach. They are a mess. They are a mess. [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune has mentioned he is not going to renew them. [House Speaker Mike] Johnson has mentioned they won’t … so it is the Republicans [who] have screwed this up. If they’ll discover a approach out of the mess, we need to work with anyone to decrease the costs.”
If there might be one other authorities shutdown
“No. There are two separate tracks right here. Democrats need to fund the appropriations, the spending payments during 2026. We need to work with a bicameral, bipartisan method to do it. And the excellent news is our Republican appropriators are working with us, and we’re making good progress in that regard.”
