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Stand Up America Applauds January 6 Committee for Using Congressional Subpoena to Compel Trump Republicans to Testify About Their Involvement in Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election
Today, the House January 6 Select Committee issued subpoenas to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other Republicans to testify about their involvement in the events leading up to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Not one of the five Republican members of Congress accepted the committee's voluntary invitations.
Sean Eldridge, Founder & President of Stand Up America, commented:
WASHINGTON
Today, the House January 6 Select Committee issued subpoenas to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other Republicans to testify about their involvement in the events leading up to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Not one of the five Republican members of Congress accepted the committee's voluntary invitations.
Sean Eldridge, Founder & President of Stand Up America, commented:
"Trump Republicans conspired to overturn the 2020 election and encouraged violent extremists to intimidate their congressional colleagues and try to prevent them from carrying out their constitutional duty. They have demonstrated they have no fealty to our democracy, our institutions, or the voters who sent them to Washington.
"We applaud the Select Committee for taking this necessary step to hold these leaders to account and ensure the American people hear the full truth about the attack on our democracy and the Capitol. The time for collegial niceties and voluntary invitations has passed."
Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to strengthen our democracy and oppose Trump's corrupt agenda, Stand Up America has driven over 600,000 phone calls to Congress and mobilized tens of thousands of protestors across the country.
LATEST NEWS
After Venezuela Assault, Trump and Rubio Warn Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia Could Be Next
"The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today," said Progressive International.
Jan 03, 2026
US President Donald Trump and top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, characterized Saturday's assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country's president as a warning shot in the direction of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations.
During a Saturday press conference, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine—an assertion of US dominance of the Western Hemisphere—and said his campaign of aggression against Venezuela represented the "Donroe Doctrine" in action.
In his unwieldy remarks, Trump called out Colombian President Gustavo Petro by name, accusing him without evidence of "making cocaine and sending it to the United States."
"So he does have to watch his ass," the US president said of Petro, who condemned the Trump administration's Saturday attack on Venezuela as "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America."
Petro responded defiantly to the possibility of the US targeting him, writing on social media that he is "not worried at all."
In a Fox News appearance earlier Saturday, Trump also took aim at the United States' southern neighbor, declaring ominously that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico," which also denounced the attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
"She is very frightened of the cartels," Trump said of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "So we have to do something."
"This armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event. It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana."
Rubio, for his part, focused on Cuba—a country whose government he has long sought to topple.
"If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned, at least a little bit," Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, said during Saturday's press conference.
That the Trump administration wasted no time threatening other nations as it pledged to control Venezuela indefinitely sparked grave warnings, with the leadership of Progressive International cautioning that "this armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event."
"It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana—and an attack on the very principle of sovereign equality and the prospects for the Zone of Peace once established by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," the coalition said in a statement. "This renewed declaration of impunity from Washington is a threat to all nations around the world."
"Trump has clearly articulated the imperial logic of this intervention—to seize control over Venezuela's natural resources and reassert US domination over the hemisphere," said Progressive International. "The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today."
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'The Actions of a Rogue State': US Lawmakers Demand Emergency Vote to Stop Trump War on Venezuela
"Trump has no right to take us to war with Venezuela. This is reckless and illegal," said Rep. Greg Casar. "Congress should vote immediately on a War Powers Resolution to stop him."
Jan 03, 2026
Members of the US Congress on Saturday demanded emergency legislative action to prevent the Trump administration from taking further military action in Venezuela after the president threatened a "second wave" of attacks and said the US will control the South American country's government indefinitely.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), said that "Congress should vote immediately on a War Powers Resolution to stop" President Donald Trump, whose administration has for months unlawfully bombed boats in international waters and threatened a direct military assault on Venezuela without lawmakers' approval.
"Trump has no right to take us to war with Venezuela. This is reckless and illegal," said Casar. "My entire life, politicians have been sending other people’s kids to die in reckless regime change wars. Enough. No new wars."
Another prominent CPC member, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), said in response to the bombing of Venezuela and capture of its president that "these are the actions of a rogue state."
"Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the US Constitution," Tlaib wrote on social media. "The American people do not want another regime change war abroad."
Progressives weren't alone in criticizing the administration's unauthorized military action in Venezuela. Establishment Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff of California and others, also called for urgent congressional action in the face of Trump's latest unlawful bombing campaign.
"Without congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them," Schiff said in a statement. "Congress must bring up a new War Powers Resolution and reassert its power to authorize force or to refuse to do so. We must speak for the American people who profoundly reject being dragged into new wars."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he will force a Senate vote next week on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to block additional US military action in Venezuela.
"Where will this go next?" Kaine asked in a statement. "Will the president deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies? Trump has threatened to do all this and more and sees no need to seek legal authorization from people’s elected legislature before putting servicemembers at risk."
“It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy, and trade," Kaine added. "My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week."
The lawmakers' push for legislative action came as Trump clearly indicated that his administration isn't done intervening in Venezuela's internal politics—and plans to exploit the country's vast oil reserves.
During a press conference on Saturday, Trump said that the US "is going to run" Venezuela, signaling the possibility of a troop deployment.
"We're not afraid of boots on the ground," the president said in response to a reporter's question, adding vaguely that his administration is "designating various people" to run the government.
Whether the GOP-controlled Congress acts to constrain the Trump administration will depend on support from Republicans, who have largely applauded the US attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro. In separate statements, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described the operation as "decisive" and justified.
Ahead of Saturday's assault, the Republican-controlled Congress rejected War Powers Resolutions aimed at preventing Trump from launching a war on Venezuela without lawmakers' approval.
One Republican lawmaker who had raised constitutional concerns about Saturday's actions, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, appeared to drop them after a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted in a statement that both Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "looked every senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change."
"I didn’t trust them then, and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," said Kim. "Trump rejected our constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war."
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'We Are Going to Run the Country,' Trump Says of Venezuela After Maduro Abduction
The US president said American fossil fuel companies will "go in and spend billions of dollars" in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
Jan 03, 2026
Update:
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US intends to control Venezuela until a "proper transition can take place," indicating that the bombing of the South American country and abduction of its president were just the start of the Trump administration's illegal intervention there.
"We are going to run the country," Trump said during a press conference at his Florida resort, flanked by top US officials. Asked to elaborate, Trump said his administration is in the process of "designating various people" to run the government, adding that "we're not afraid of boots on the ground."
The president went on to say that US forces are prepared to launch "a much larger attack" on Venezuela if he deems it necessary, threatening other political figures in the country.
"What happened to Maduro can happen to them," he said.
Trump also declared that American fossil fuel companies will "go in and spend billions of dollars" in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
Earlier:
President Donald Trump is set to hold a press conference late Saturday morning at his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after US forces bombed Venezuela and abducted the nation's president, Nicolás Maduro, who is being taken to New York to face new federal charges.
The press conference is scheduled to begin at 11 am ET, and it comes as Trump is facing backlash at home and around the world for launching an illegal regime-change war.
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In a Fox News appearance ahead of the press conference, Trump brushed aside criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others who said the US bombing of Venezuela and abduction of its president were illegal.
Democratic lawmakers expressing that view are "weak, stupid people," the president said, declaring that the actions he approved without congressional authorization and in violation of international law should be applauded.
“They should say, 'Great job,'” Trump said. “They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”
Trump went on to declare that the US will "be involved" in Venezuela's political future following Maduro's abduction. Asked if he would throw his support behind right-wing opposition leader María Corina Machado, the US president said, "We have to look at it."
"They have a vice president, as you know," said Trump, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, who is next in line to take power.
An indictment unsealed Saturday morning shows that Maduro, his wife, and top Venezuelan officials will face federal drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges.
The document characterizes Maduro as "previously the president of Venezuela."
CNN reported that the raid resulting in Maduro and his wife's capture was carried out by the US Army's elite Delta Force.
"The couple was captured in the middle of the night as they were sleeping," the outlet reported, citing unnamed sources. "A team of FBI agents was with the US special operation forces who carried out the capture."
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