Shutdown threat grows as lawmakers eye Venezuela

Lawmakers are returning to Washington this week confronting the fallout from the stunning capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — and familiar complaints about the Trump administration deciding to bypass Congress on military operations that have led to this moment. Democratic leaders are demanding the administration immediately brief Congress. Republican leaders indicated over the weekend those plans are being scheduled, but some lawmakers expressed frustration Sunday that the details have been slow to arrive. President Donald Trump told the nation Saturday that the United States intends to "run" Venezuela and take control over the country's oil operations now that Maduro has been captured and brought to New York to stand trial in a criminal case centered on narco-terrorism charges.

The administration did not brief Congress ahead of the actions, leaving Democrats and some Republicans expressing public frustration with the decision to sideline Congress. "Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a social media post Saturday. Appearing on the Sunday news shows, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, ticked through a growing list of unknowns — and laid out plans for their party to try and reassert Congress' authority over acts of war. "The problem here is that there are so many unanswered questions," Schumer said on ABC's "This Week." "How long do they intend to be there? How many troops do we need after one day? After one week? After one year? How much is it going to cost and what are the boundaries?"

Jeffries told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he was worried about Trump running Venezuela, saying he has "done a terrible job running the United States of America" and should be focused on the job at home. In the coming days, Jeffries said Democrats will prioritise legislative action to try and put a check on the administration, "to ensure that no further military steps occur absent explicit congressional approval." As discussions over Venezuela loom, lawmakers also face major decisions on how to address rising costs of healthcare, prevent another government shutdown and deal with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files. Much of the unfinished business reflects a Congress that opted to punt some of its toughest and most politically divisive decisions into the new year, a move that could slow negotiations as lawmakers may be reluctant to give the other side high-profile policy wins in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.

First and foremost, Congress faces the monumental task of averting yet another government shutdown — just two months after the longest shutdown in US history ended. Lawmakers have until Jan. 30 to pass spending bills needed to keep the federal government open. Both chambers are scheduled to be in session for three weeks before the shutdown deadline — with the House slated to be out of session the week immediately before. Lawmakers were able to resolve key funding disputes late last year, including funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps, and other government programs. But disagreements over healthcare spending remain a major sticking point in budget negotiations, intensified now that millions of Americans are facing higher healthcare costs after lawmakers allowed Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire on Thursday.

"We can still find a solution to this," said Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who has proposed legislation to extend the tax credits for two years. "We need to come up with ways to make people whole. That needs to be a top priority as soon as we get back." Despite that urgency, Republican efforts to be the author of broad healthcare reforms have gotten little traction. Underscoring the political pressure over the issue, four moderate House Republicans late last year defied party leadership and joined House Democrats to force a floor vote on a three-year extension of the subsidies. That vote is expected to take place in the coming weeks. Even if the House effort succeeds, its prospects remain dim in the Senate, where Republicans last month blocked a three-year extension.

Meanwhile, President Trump is proposing giving more money directly to people for their healthcare, rather than to insurance companies. A White House official said the administration is also pursuing reforms to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Trump said last month that he plans to summon a group of healthcare executives to Washington early in the year to pressure them to lower costs. "I'm going to call in the insurance companies that are making so much money, and they have to make less, a lot less," Trump said during an Oval Office announcement. "I'm going to see if they get their price down, to put it very bluntly. And I think that is a very big statement." There is an expectation that Trump's increasing hostility to insurance companies will play a role in any Republican healthcare reform proposal. If Congress does not act, the president is expected to leverage the "bully pulpit" to pressure drug and insurance companies to lower healthcare prices for consumers through executive action, said Nick Iarossi, a Trump fundraiser.

"The president is locked in on the affordability message and I believe anything he can accomplish unilaterally without Congress he will do to provide relief to consumers," Iarossi said. While lawmakers negotiate government funding and healthcare policy, the continuing Epstein saga is expected to take up significant bandwidth. Democrats and a few Republicans have been unhappy with the Department of Justice's decision to heavily redact or withhold documents from a legally mandated release of files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Some are weighing options for holding Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi accountable. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, who co-sponsored the law that mandated the release with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said he and Massie will bring contempt charges against Bondi in an attempt to force her to comply with the law. "The survivors and the public demand transparency and justice," Khanna said in a statement. Under a law passed by Congress and signed by Trump, the Justice Department was required to release all Epstein files by Dec. 19, and released about 100,000 pages on that day. In the days that followed, the Justice Department said more than 5.2 million documents have been discovered and need to be reviewed.

"We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible," the Justice Department said in a social media post on Dec. 24. "Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks." Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told MS NOW last week that pressure to address the matter will come to a head in the new year when lawmakers are back at work. "When we get back to Congress here in this next week, we're going to find out really quick if Republicans are serious about actually putting away and taking on pedophiles and some of the worst people and traffickers in modern history, or if they're going to bend the knee to Donald Trump," said Garcia, of Long Beach.