ICYMI: Rep. Ami Bera Responds to U.S. Military Operation in Venezuela on FOX News Sunday

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In case you missed it, U.S. Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), a senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Fox News Sunday to discuss the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, the Trump administration’s failure to notify Congress, and the importance of planning for what comes next to promote stability in Venezuela and empower the Venezuelan people to freely choose their own future.

You can watch the full interview here and read the transcript below: 

GILLIAN TURNER, FOX NEWS: Let's bring in California Democrat, Ami Bera. He serves on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Sir, we have — we being Fox News, has learned from CIA sources overnight that this operation to take Maduro out was coordinated directly by cabinet officials, the top cabinet officials, in the Administration daily for many, many weeks, if not months leading up to this.

Did you and your colleagues on the intel committee have any inkling of what was in the works?

REP. AMI BERA: We did not. We've had the intelligence community in committee to talk specifically about Venezuela. We're not given any heads-up or -- or -- or an indication of what they were doing.

In fact, all of Congress, the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, had a classified briefing right before the holiday break.

Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, General Caine were asked directly if this was about regime change, if we would be seeing troops on the ground. We were misled, and they indicated that we would not see that. [They said] this was about drug operations.

TURNER: President Trump and Secretary Rubio were asked by reporters yesterday whether they notified the Gang of Eight, whether they notified any leadership in Congress. Here was their response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify because it endangers the mission.

TRUMP: Plus, if I can add one thing to that, Congress has a tendency to leak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: What's your reaction to that, sir?

BERA: My reaction to that is the Gang of Eight does not leak. The Gang of Eight should be read into this. That's the leadership in the House, the -- the Senate, and the intelligence community. They should have been informed.

Again, they know their jobs, and we're better off if Congress is in lockstep with the Administration.

TURNER: What is your feeling about the overall operation? The Trump administration is obviously touting it as a huge strategic and tactical success and a victory for the Venezuelan and American people.

Do you think the military operation was successful?

BERA: I mean, the military operation was extremely successful. It shows the capabilities of the United States of our intelligence com -- community. We have the best in the world. So, hands off to what we can do with our military and our intelligence.

So, there's no criticism of tactically how they did it. It's the motives, the intent, and the what-comes-next that we're very worried about.

TURNER: What would you like to see come next?

BERA: Yes, I think the Administration needs to come up to the Hill. Yes, we will meet as an intelligence committee. Yes, we met as Democrats on the foreign affairs committee yesterday to -- to have conversations about what's next.

At this point, you can't undo the past, so it really is about what comes next and how do you stabilize Venezuela.

It does look like the interim president is in conversation with the Administration. I'd like to see the Administration brief us on that.

And again, you've got to prepare the American public. Nobody wants to see troops on the ground. Nobody wants to see a long-term foreign engagement, especially when so many American families are struggling. And that's what this is about right now.

TURNER: And there are hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States under TPS, the Temporary Protected Status, who are hugely concerned about what this transitional period in Venezuela is going to mean for them and their families as they face the prospect of deportation.

I had Kristi Noem, DHS secretary, on with me earlier, and she said she has no plans to really suspend those deportations while this is unfolding over the coming months.

BERA: Yes. So, this is just my opinion, but, you know, we've seen the actions of the Trump administration. So, if I was one of those Venezuelan refugees, I would be worried as well. I do think part of the intent of the Administration is now that they have a different Administration in Venezuela that they are going to start sending those folks back to Venezuela. The president has not said that, but based on his previous actions, I do think that's part of the motivation here.

TURNER: Do you have any sense of who you would like to see at the helm of Venezuela's government in a future Administration?

BERA: You know, I don't at this moment. I do know, we should learn lessons from the past. The mistake that was made in Iraq was, as soon as we toppled Saddam Hussein, we dismantled all the infrastructure, all the government agencies, the military, et cetera. That was a mistake and threw that country into chaos, which led to an over decade engagement with troops on the ground in Iraq, many Americans dying there and trillions of dollars being spent.

I would try to keep the Administration intact. I would try to find out which generals are willing to work with the United States, work with the rest of the world to create some peace and stability. And then think about what comes next. Again, Venezuela has had democratic elections.

TURNER: Yes.

BERA: It is up to the people of Venezuela to choose their leadership. But let's keep some stability.

TURNER: Congressman Ami Bera, thank you for taking time with us today. We appreciate it.

BERA: Gillian, thanks for having me on.

TURNER: You bet.