Spin Cycle: Flip Test, The Maduro Edition

On Saturday, elite American military operators descended upon an indicted narco-terrorist and extracted him from Venezuela, delivering him to New York to face the charges. That indicted narco-terrorist just happened to be Nicolás Maduro, the dictator who calls himself “president.”

With Maduro gone, Democrats who once called for his ouster are suddenly up in arms, simply because President Donald Trump is the one who made it happen.

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

Across the major legacy networks, Democrats complained about the fact that the Trump administration had sent military operators in to extract Maduro — and media personalities quickly joined them in questioning whether or not the Trump administration had the authority to take that action without first getting congressional approval.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — who criticized Trump in 2020 for not ending Maduro’s regime — led the charge on ABC’s “This Week,” speaking with Democratic strategist-turned-ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Schumer conceded that Maduro was a bad actor but claimed that the Trump administration had still been coloring outside the lines in going to get him.

“Look, Maduro is a horrible, horrible person,” Schumer said. “But you don’t treat lawlessness with other lawlessness. And that’s what’s happened here. The American people, this morning, are scratching their heads in wonderment and in fear of what the president has proposed: ‘The United States will run Venezuela.’ We have learned through the years [that] when America tries to do regime change and nation-building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and dollars.”

Stephanopoulos pointed out the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had the authority to move on Maduro, and Schumer protested: “It’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticizes the U.S strike in Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro: “It’s a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress.” https://t.co/jbZuHwZD9A pic.twitter.com/nNEQWg1d7V

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 4, 2026

CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan brought in Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who became a household name when he traveled to El Salvador to retrieve MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen also complained that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority in taking action in Venezuela without asking Congress first.

He predicted that in reaction, Congress “will have a vote on a war powers resolution probably as early as this week, if not next.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen says President Trump does not have the legal authority to attack Venezuela and says he’s sure that Congress “will have a vote on a war powers resolution probably as early as this week, if not next.”

“For the most part, Republicans are happy to give Donald… pic.twitter.com/J4kq7RraNC

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 4, 2026

On “The Sunday Briefing,” Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said much the same to Fox News host Jacqui Heinrich, after first claiming that more traditional avenues like sanctions hadn’t worked on Maduro because American allies hated Trump too much to join the United States in enforcing them. Then he, too, argued that Trump should have come to Congress for approval before sending military operators into Venezuela.

Kaine, as recently as 2024, had called Maduro an illegitimate leader and demanded a “peaceful transfer of power.”

???? WOW. Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine just got UTTERLY EMBARRASSED on national television!

“If Dems cared SO MUCH about process, why didn’t THEY do anything to bring Maduro to justice when THEY were in charge? The guy’s been under indictment since 2020!” ????????pic.twitter.com/aoPkS0qMlC

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 4, 2026

More of the same came from Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), who said in 2019 that Trump would move to topple Maduro because “getting rid of Maduro is good for the United States.”

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” however, he said Trump’s actions had been “wildly illegal” and claimed that he was only moving on Venezuela to gain control of natural resources for his own personal financial gain.

Sen. Chris Murphy tells Dana Bash that Trump’s attack on Venezuela “seems to be mostly about oil and natural resources” and is “all about making money for his friends.” pic.twitter.com/EvylbRzl5B

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 4, 2026

But Rubio explained in several interviews on Sunday why the Trump administration had not asked Congress for permission to act — or even notified Congress prior to doing so — and why they hadn’t been bound to do so.

“This was not an action that required congressional approval. In fact, it couldn’t require congressional approval because this was not an invasion. This is not an extended military operation,” he told NBC News anchor Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”

“We will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval. Otherwise, they’ll get congressional notification.”

“This was not an action that required congressional approval… This was not an invasion,” says @SecRubio.

“We will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval. Otherwise, they’ll get congressional notification.” pic.twitter.com/up6ZEJtmXd

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 4, 2026

On ABC’s “This Week,” he added, “You can’t congressionally notify something like this for two reasons. Number one, it will leak. It’s as simple as that. And number two, it’s an exigent circumstance,” Rubio explained.

Sec. Rubio responds to criticism of the lack of congressional authorization in the U.S. operation in Venezuela: “You can’t congressionally notify something like this for two reasons. Number one, it will leak. It’s as simple as that. And number two, it’s an exigent circumstance.” pic.twitter.com/qIBPiRuDYk

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 4, 2026

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley addressed that point as well, responding specifically to the comments made by Tim Kaine, and argued that not only was the Trump administration’s action legal, it was no different than actions taken by previous Democratic presidents.

“Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va) told Fox that “the Constitution does not give the President the right to initiate military action.” That is entirely incorrect. The Constitution does not give a president the right to declare war. However, presidents are allowed to use military forces without such a declaration…” Turley stated, adding, “Democratic presidents routinely launched attacks in other countries without any objection from Sen. Kaine. Obama not only killed an American citizen not charge with any crime but attacked Libya’s capital and attacked its military to cause a regime change without consulting with Congress.”