The Briefing: How Capitol Hill reacted to news of Nicolás Maduro's capture

By Fox News · Fox News

It is the perpetual question in Congress . Was the Speaker briefed? When will they give you a briefing? I don’t know anything about that, because I haven’t been briefed yet. DEFIANT MADURO DECLARES HE IS A 'PRISONER OF WAR' IN FIRST US COURT APPEARANCE A Congressional "briefing" is supposed to shed light on unanswered questions. And the questions are legion after the U.S. military mission to extract Nicolás Maduro from Caracas . That initial "briefing" unfolded Monday night at the Capitol. Granted, not for every lawmaker. But the bipartisan House and Senate leadership, top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, leaders of the Armed Services Committees, and the chairs and ranking members of the Foreign Affairs/Foreign Relations Committees. Democrats seethed that the White House did not notify Congress in advance of the operation. Granted, "notification" is different from a briefing. And it’s a far cry from Congress voting to authorize or suspend an operation under its Article I "war powers." Democrats — and some Republicans — contend that only Congress can bless an operation like the one in Venezuela. But regardless, both sides wanted to know what comes next. It's all in the eye of the beholder. "This is a military operation. We all know that," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, on CNN. "This was not an act of war or an invasion. This was the lawful apprehension of a fugitive from justice," countered Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., on Fox. SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’ Most Democrats say the administration violated the Constitution, dispatching U.S. forces abroad without Congressional permission. "The President literally dropped into a sovereign nation, executed on this warrant, pulled the leader out with no plan for the next day," said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., on CNN. Some lawmakers fretted about President Trump’s future intentions and wonder…