{"id":2530366,"date":"2026-01-06T06:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-johnson-says-not-to-expect-boots-on-the-ground-in-venezuela\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T06:32:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T11:32:16","slug":"mike-johnson-says-not-to-expect-boots-on-the-ground-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-johnson-says-not-to-expect-boots-on-the-ground-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Johnson says not to \u2018expect boots on the ground\u2019 in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmike-johnson-says-not-to-expect-boots-on-the-ground-in-venezuela%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2530366&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>House Speaker Mike Johnson said the U.S. does not plan to put &#8220;boots on the ground&#8221; in venezuela after the capture of former leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and expects a new presidential election there &#8220;in short order.&#8221; He characterized U.S. actions as pressuring a change in behavior, not a regime-change operation, and said members of Congress will receive a full briefing Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Senior lawmakers and key Trump governance officials &#8211; including Attorney General Pam Bondi,Secretary of State Marco Rubio,Secretary of War Pete hegseth,and CIA Director John Ratcliffe &#8211; participated in a two-hour briefing on the events. Rubio said the U.S. did not have and did not expect to deploy ground forces during &#8220;Operation Absolute Resolve,&#8221; the military operation that led to Maduro&#8217;s extraction.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to multiple charges, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >including drug trafficking<\/a>. Congressional reaction has been split along party lines, with Senate Majority Leader chuck Schumer calling the administration&#8217;s plan vague and leaving many unanswered questions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mike Johnson says not to &lsquo;expect boots on the ground&rsquo; in Venezuela<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2464170\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>House Speaker <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\">Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA) issued a calming message to those concerned about the fallout from the arrest of former Venezuelan dictator <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\/\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a> over the weekend. To those concerned about a looming war between the countries, Johnson said not to &ldquo;expect boots on the ground&rdquo; in the South American country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Johnson implied further calmness by suggesting he anticipated a new presidential election in the country, which would occur in &ldquo;short order.&rdquo; The Speaker&rsquo;s comments came after a two-hour briefing on the events in Venezuela with senior legislators, according to multiple sources.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4407567\/trump-venezuela-intervention-2028-debate-rubio-vance\/\">Trump&#8217;s Venezuela intervention could settle the 2028 debate for Rubio and Vance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4407858\/bondi-defends-order-to-arrest-maduro\/\">Bondi defends Trump&#8217;s order to arrest Maduro saying it &#8216;saved countless lives&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4407530\/fbi-catholic-school-teacher-terrorist-list-jan-6\/\">FBI put Catholic school teacher on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmaker-terror-suspects-are-starting-to-exploit-the-southern-border\/\" title=\"GOP Lawmaker: Terror Suspects Are \u2018Starting To Exploit The Southern B...\u2019\">terrorist watch list<\/a> after unverified tip, Senate Jan. 6 investigation finds<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t expect troops on the ground,&rdquo; Johnson <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/01\/05\/venezuela-maduro-congress-briefing-mike-johnson-00712155\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said to the media<\/a> after the briefing. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the &hellip; the interim government to get that going.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I expect that there will be an election called in Venezuela,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;It should happen in short order.&rdquo; He also emphasized that this was not a regime change operation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The way this is being described &mdash; this is not a regime change,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Johnson also said that all House and Senate members will get a full briefing on Wednesday. However, the details of it have not been finalized yet, <em>Politico<\/em> reported.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Key members of Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, among others, met with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-betrayal-of-biden-exposes-the-partys-lack-of-ethics-5\/\" title=\"Obama&#039;s betrayal of Biden exposes the party&#039;s lack of ethics\">senior party leaders<\/a> and members of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Armed Services, and Intelligence committees, <em>Politico<\/em> reported. The meeting came hours after Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, which included, among others, drug trafficking, in a federal court in New York City, New York, on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio spoke about &ldquo;Operation Absolute Resolve,&rdquo; Saturday&rsquo;s military operation in which Maduro and his wife were extracted from Venezuela, on NBC&rsquo;s <em>Meet the Press<\/em> on Sunday. He explained to Kirstin Welker that the U.S. did not have ground forces and didn&rsquo;t expect to have any in the future.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have U.S. forces on the ground in Venezuela,&rdquo; Rubio <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2007824389664882737\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;They were on the ground for about two hours when they went to capture Maduro.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What the President is saying is very simple &mdash; and that is as President of the United States, he is not going to go around telling people what he&rsquo;s not going to do,&rdquo; Rubio added.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3916375\/house-republicans-bucking-leadership-forcing-votes-unapproved-bills-discharge-petitions\/\">HERE&rsquo;S WHY HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE INCREASINGLY BUCKING LEADERSHIP BY FORCING VOTES ON UNAPPROVED BILLS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the most part, the congressional response to &ldquo;Operation Absolute Resolve&rdquo; has been predictably split among party lines. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was skeptical about the administration&rsquo;s plans for Venezuela, categorizing the briefing as &ldquo;extensive&rdquo; but also resulting in &ldquo;far more questions than it answered,&rdquo; according to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/01\/05\/venezuela-maduro-congress-briefing-mike-johnson-00712155\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague &hellip; based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying,&rdquo; Schumer said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Johnson: No U.S. troops expected in Venezuela<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2530367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/johnson-impeachment-warning.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34218,33439,36408,50813],"class_list":["post-2530366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-mike-johnson","tag-military-intervention","tag-us-foreign-policy","tag-venezuela-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/johnson-impeachment-warning.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2530366"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530370,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530366\/revisions\/2530370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2530366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2530366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2530366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}