Here’s a list of U.S. officials opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela : NPR

Protesters gather in front of the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation.

Julia Démarée Nikhinson/AP

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Julia Démarée Nikhinson/AP

President Trump’s decision to impeach Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has drawn praise in the United States, particularly from Republican leaders. But the invasion also faces considerable skepticism, questions about legality and fierce opposition from some elected officials across the political spectrum.

Here is an investigation.

Some Republicans condemn or question Trump’s invasion

While most conservative lawmakers expressed support for Trump’s action, a small group of Republican House members and Republican senators called the move illegal or ill-advised.

“If the president believes military action against Venezuela is necessary, he should make his case and Congress should vote before American lives and treasures are spent on regime change in South America,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, speaking on the House floor. “Do we really believe that Nicolás Maduro will be replaced by a modern-day George Washington? How did that happen in Cuba, Libya, Iraq or Syria?”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., expressed skepticism on social media that the real goal of Trump’s invasion was to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. She also described the military action as a violation of conservative “America First” principles.

“Americans are disgusted by our own government’s endless military aggression and its support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, still keep Washington’s military machine funded and running,” Greene posted on X. “This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy, were we wrong.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, generally praised the military operation, but he also said the precedent of U.S. military intervention could encourage more aggressive action by authoritarian regimes in China and Russia.

“Freedom and the rule of law were defended last night,” Bacon said on X, referring to the invasion of Venezuela, “but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish goals.”

At least three Republican senators also expressed concern or skepticism about the invasion and its legal justification, while celebrating Maduro’s fall.

“In this case, a leader who monopolized central power is removed from office in an action that monopolizes central power,” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul wrote on Platform

Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both of Alaska, said ousting Maduro would make the United States and the world safer, but suggested the operation could turn into a quagmire for American troops.

“Late last year, I voted to debate two resolutions that would have ended the escalation of U.S. military operations against Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress,” Murkowski wrote on Platform X. She added that she expected further briefings from Trump officials on “the legal basis for these operations.”

“Lessons learned from what happened after the United States deposed another indicted Latin American drug lord — Manuel Noriega of Panama in 1989 — could prove useful, as could the painful and difficult lessons learned after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003,” Sullivan wrote on X.

Most Democrats condemn the invasion

Most Democratic lawmakers and elected officials have also described Maduro as a dictator, but they have generally condemned Trump’s action. At a press conference on Saturday, New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, told reporters that he had called Trump and expressed his opposition to the invasion.

“I called the president and spoke to him directly to convey my opposition to this act and to make clear to him that this was opposition based on opposition to continued regime change and violation of federal and international law,” Mamdani said.

Democratic minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York accused Trump of acting in bad faith and violating the U.S. Constitution. “The idea that Trump is considering ruling Venezuela now should strike fear into the hearts of all Americans,” Schumer said in an article on X. “The American people have already seen this and paid a devastating price.”

According to Schumer, the Trump administration assured him “three times that it would not pursue regime change or military action without congressional authorization.”

California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, a frequent Trump critic, issued a series of comments on X describing Saturday’s military action and Trump’s proposed U.S. occupation of Venezuela as potentially disastrous.

“By acting without congressional approval or public buy-in, Trump risks plunging an entire hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them,” Schiff wrote.

“Donald Trump has once again shown his contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law,” independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said in a video posted on social media, in which he called the US invasion “imperialism”.

“This is the horrible logic of force that Putin used to justify his brutal attack on Ukraine,” Sanders said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, also criticized the military strike, describing it as an attempt by Trump to distract from domestic unrest in the United States.

“It’s not about drugs. If it were, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the world’s biggest narcotics traffickers last month,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to Trump’s decision to release former Honduran President Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in the United States of helping to smuggle more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

“It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a lawsuit now to pretend it’s not. Especially to take the focus off of Epstein + skyrocketing health care costs,” Ocasio-Cortez added on X.