Marco Rubio claims Venezuela strike too urgent for 'congressional notification'

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a conference on Saturday, January 3, to share insights with the press about the strike in Venezuela that took place earlier the same day. 

When Rubio took over, he emphasized the urgency of the mission. He stated that the strike and the arrest of Nicolas Maduro were not the kind of mission that “you can do congressional notification on.”

Marco Rubio calls Venezuela strike a ‘trigger-based mission’

During the press conference, Marco Rubio explained that the Venezuelan strike was a “trigger-based mission.”

He added that conditions had to be met night after night and that the military had monitored it for days.

Explaining why the Trump administration did not wait for Congressional approval before launching the attack, Rubio said, “It’s just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say 'Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days.'”

He added that pre-notification of the attack could have endangered the mission because it was a “law enforcement function.”

The secretary of state later pointed out that Nicolas Maduro had been given multiple generous offers to leave power, but allegedly instead chose to “act like a wild man.”

Listing the things Maduro had done, Rubio claimed that he had “invited Iran into his country, confiscated American oil companies,” and flooded America with gang members while taking Americans as prisoners.

He also stated that Maduro had multiple opportunities to “find his way somewhere else. Instead, he wanted to play big boy.”

Marco Rubio claims Trump does what he says

During the press conference, Marco Rubio stated that the American president was “not a game player.” He added that when Trump told someone he was going to do something, he meant it. 

“He actions it,” he added. 

Rubio further called Donald Trump a “president of action” and said that he didn’t understand why people didn’t understand that. He added that Trump wasn’t a president of words but that if he said he was serious about anything, he meant it. 

“This was a direct threat to the national interest of the United States, and the president addressed it,” he added.

Rubio shared his message for the world, noting that the president didn’t go out looking for people to pick fights with.

“But don’t play games. It’s not gonna turn out well,” he stated.