| WASHINGTON, D.C.— Last night, Republican members from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held a Special Order Hour on the House of Representatives’ floor, led by Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) to clearly communicate to the American people why President Trump’s decisive action to arrest Venezuela’s illegitimate ruler Nicolas Maduro was critical to Western Hemisphere security and countering foreign adversaries. The members emphasized that America is grateful for President Trump’s efforts to rid the world of a freedom-killing, murderous dictator, Nicolas Maduro, by reiterating past comments made by Democrats. Vice-Chair Trent Kelly (MS-01), National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee Chair Darin LaHood (IL-16), National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee Chair Austin Scott (GA-08), Rep. French Hill (AR-02), Rep. Greg Steube (FL-17), and Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24) participated in the Special Order Hour. Watch each member’s remarks below.  CHAIRMAN CRAWFORD: “Americans woke up on January 3rd, 2026, to news that our truly courageous and skillful intelligence community, law enforcement, and military had executed a mission that is simply unbelievable, if we had not heard about the exploits soon thereafter. What an unprecedented risk our men and women took on that day to do what no other political administration in the world had ever contemplated as remotely possible to remove and exfiltrate for prosecution a ruthless dictator whose direct involvement in narco-terrorism has led to the death of scores of Americans and other allied citizens. Please don’t take my word for the nature of Maduro’s reign over Venezuela. My Democrat colleagues have for years been raising the alarm of Maduro’s destruction through a multitude of legislative measures. Just a small subset of this Democrat-led legislation is cited in House Resolution 987 that we’ve introduced today.” — CRAWFORD: “I take no pleasure in highlighting the hypocrisy of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. In fact, I wish we all could speak with one voice on this issue. It should never be partisan or controversial to praise the arrest of a man like Nicolas Maduro. Make no mistake about it, Nicolas Maduro is a murderer, an autocrat, a narco-terrorist, and a thug who once oppressed his people, stolen elections, and turned a once prosperous and free country into a desperate nation that millions have fled. We should all be celebrating the actions of the Trump Administration and attempting to bring him to justice. Sadly, as we’ve shown today, many of my Democrat friends who were once on the right side of this issue have changed their minds simply because Nicolas Maduro’s arrest was orchestrated by someone they don’t like, President Trump.” Watch his opening remarks here and his closing remarks here.  VICE-CHAIRMAN KELLY: “Nicolas Maduro was not a legitimate leader. He was an indicted narco-terrorist who helped run Venezuela into a hub for drug trafficking, corruption, and foreign influence that directly threatened the United States and our allies. For years, there was bipartisan agreement on this fact. The difference is President Trump acted.” Watch the full remarks here.  NSA & CYBER SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR LAHOOD: “The other thing that doesn’t get mentioned enough is the fact that our adversaries, Iran, China, and Russia essentially have used Venezuela for the last 20 years as a base and a platform to spy and threaten, and cause chaos in the Western Hemisphere and the United States. That no longer will happen because of the brave work that was executed by our Special Forces on January 3rd.” Watch the full remarks here.  NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ENTERPRISE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR SCOTT: “Let me tell you something. The world is a safer place because of what Donald Trump ordered and what our military carried out this past week. The Western Hemisphere cannot be a safe space for China, Russia, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or the other terrorists that were being given safe haven in Venezuela. Speaker Pelosi in 2019 ended her roundtable comments with a resounding ‘it’s clear Maduro must go. The sooner the better.” Watch the full remarks here.  REP. HILL: “In my view, Mr. Speaker, the last straw- Maduro lost the national election and annulled the results. He’s simply a cheap, drug-dealing, election fraudster. And don’t take Republicans on this side of the aisle’s word for it, Mr. Speaker. The European Union, the United States government under the Biden and the Trump Administrations, the Organization of American States, his neighbors, they all agree that Maduro stole the election in 2024 and compounded it by annulling the results. The regime was one long string of repression and human rights abuses.” Watch the full remarks here.  REP. STEUBE: “Over the past week, Democrats have claimed that Maduro’s capture was unconstitutional, illegal, and violated international norms. Democrats argued that Congress must declare war, give explicit authorization before the President can act. Article II is clear that the President is the Commander in Chief, and the Constitution has never required a declaration of war for every use of force, national security, or law enforcement operation against criminal actors who threaten the United States.” Watch the full remarks here.  REP. TENNEY: “Appeasement never results in effective deterrence. Democrats’ fecklessness has empowered dictators, emboldened traffickers, and left Americans less safe. Peace through strength works, and strong leadership matters. The mission is stability in the Western Hemisphere, a secure transition in Venezuela that prevents criminals and adversaries from filling a dangerous vacuum.” Watch the full remarks here. ### |
