“If it ends up being Rodriguez, I’m told that she’s a practical person, pragmatic person, and will understand the importance of figuring out a path forward to where America’s national security priorities can be prioritized by Venezuela,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday. “So I hope that happens.”

She was not the first choice of congressional Republicans, several of whom immediately called for Venezuelan opposition leaders to be ushered into power. Thune and other GOP senators are betting that Rodriguez can be forced into cooperating with Trump’s demands on oil and drug trafficking.

Trump has warned that Rodriguez could face a fate worse than Maduro, who will stand trial on narcoterrorism charges in New York, if she does not open up oil production to U.S. companies, among other reforms.

“I think the not-so-subtle message is that it could happen to you,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), an adviser to Thune, told the Washington Examiner.

Cornyn said his view on Rodriguez “depends on how she performs,” but that there are a “number of levers available to the administration to try to persuade her.”

Thune similarly expressed that the United States would know in “the next few days” whether Rodriguez is serious about working with Washington. She blasted the capture of Maduro as “an atrocity that violates international law” over the weekend, shortly after the raid, but has since struck a conciliatory note with the administration.

Not all Republicans are willing to give Rodriguez the benefit of the doubt. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who represents a large Venezuelan population in Florida, maintains that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be the one in power, given her movement is widely considered to have won the 2024 election against Maduro.

“I’m going to be very aggressive in making sure everybody realizes what Rodriguez is,” Scott said. “Let’s all recognize, she’s not a duly elected president. She’s a regime leader, just like Maduro was.”

Still, Republicans have begun to take a sober view of the transitional government. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) initially wanted Machado or her allies to take charge, but has since shown sympathy to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call for “realism” in Venezuela.

In a string of Sunday show interviews, Rubio noted that the “vast majority” of Venezuela’s opposition is in exile and that severing the Maduro regime’s control over the military and police forces posed a challenge.

“I think Rubio’s point that she does not command control of the armed services is an important one,” Cassidy said of Machado.

Other Republicans believe that Rodriguez is acceptable in the interim, but expect that democratic reforms will be prioritized after a period of transition. A reported CIA analysis presented to Trump found that Machado would have trouble maintaining order if she took control and could face resistance from paramilitary troops.

“While we might be supporting things for stability purposes right now, ultimately, long term, this is a decision for the Venezuelans,” said Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The idea of keeping the Maduro regime in place has been met with deep suspicion by Democrats who say Venezuela is merely swapping one corrupt ruler for another.

“I have grave reservations about interim President Rodriguez, because she’s essentially part of the Maduro power structure,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), also an Armed Services Committee member. “If we really want to establish a democracy in Venezuela, we should be looking to the lawfully elected leadership, not to [Maduro’s] sycophants and supporters.”

Yet not all lawmakers are convinced that Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, is a loyalist, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) noting that “her history, and even her father’s history, kind of predates Maduro.”

BERNIE MORENO ANGLES FOR MAJORITY GOP SUPPORT IN OBAMACARE SUBSIDY TALKS

Scott predicted that Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her popular resistance in Venezuela, would eventually be president and spoke to her over the phone on Tuesday to offer words of encouragement. After the capture of Maduro, Trump claimed that she lacked the “respect” of the Venezuelan people.

“I think they need to work through the process,” Scott said. “I think they’re doing the right thing. I think they’re working through the process. There are a lot of bad people there. I think Trump’s going to have to continue to put pressure on them to do the right thing. And I think they will.”