Sen. Marco Rubio will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 at 10:00 a.m. The hearing follows Rubio’s role in persuading Sens. Todd Young and Josh Hawley to flip their votes and block a Democratic effort to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers. Rubio has promised to notify Congress and, when feasible, seek authorization before introducing U.S. forces into major military operations in Venezuela. Democrats, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, say they will continue legal and legislative challenges to the administration’s war authorities.
Sen. Marco Rubio To Testify Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee On Venezuela Policy
Rubio has laid out the United States' three-phase plan for Venezuela.(Reuters)
Sen. Marco Rubio is scheduled to publicly testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 at 10:00 a.m. The hearing comes amid renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s actions and authorities related to Venezuela and the wider Caribbean.
Rubio, a longtime member of the Foreign Relations Committee, has in recent weeks taken a prominent role defending the administration’s approach while promising greater transparency to Congress. His appearance follows his efforts to persuade two Republican holdouts — Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — to reverse their votes and block a Democratic-led measure that would have limited President Donald Trump’s war powers.
Sen. James Risch, Republican from Idaho, speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republicans policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2025.
Why The Vote Flipped
Young and Hawley had expressed concern that broad restrictions might preclude rapid or necessary responses or fail to provide Congress a say if U.S. forces were deployed on the ground in the region. According to aides and public statements, Rubio secured their support by offering formal assurances that the administration would notify Congress before initiating major military operations in Venezuela and, where circumstances permit, seek congressional authorization in advance.
Sen. Todd Young said he had to "accept that this was a communications exercise," but added it "shines a bright light on Congress' shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history."
Rubio reportedly documented those assurances in a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Chairman James Risch (R-Idaho) and communicated the same commitments directly to Sen. Young. In part, Rubio wrote that should the president "determine that he intends to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operations in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting)."
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is just getting started on his pursuit to rein in President Donald Trump's war authorities across the globe and plans to file even more war powers resolutions in the coming weeks.
Ongoing Dispute Over War Powers
Despite Rubio’s assurances, Democrats on the committee — including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) — have signaled they will continue to press legal and legislative challenges to what they view as overly broad executive war authorities. Kaine said he plans to "file every one I can to challenge emergencies, to challenge unlawful wars, to seek human rights reports, [and] arms transfers if they're wrong."
The Jan. 28 hearing will give senators an opportunity to question Rubio publicly about these assurances, the administration’s policy toward Venezuela, and how Congress will be kept informed if future operations in the region are contemplated.
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