Usual political rivals Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez found rare common ground on Saturday – joining forces to slam President Donald Trump’s dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The unprecedented military operation saw Maduro and his wife arrested on narco-terrorism charges, but the unusual alliance of firebrand lawmakers wasn’t buying the official explanation.
‘It’s not about drugs,’ Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media after the raid was confirmed by government officials. ‘It’s about oil and regime change.’
The New York progressive accused Trump of launching the Venezuelan mission as a smokescreen to distract Americans from the ongoing scandal over the Jeffrey Epstein files and ‘skyrocketing healthcare costs.’
In alignment, the Georgia Republican Greene echoed her Democratic counterpart’s concerns, warning that the Trump administration’s Venezuela operation could be just the beginning of aggressive regime change campaigns worldwide.
‘By removing Maduro this is a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies that will ensure stability for the next obvious regime change war in Iran,’ Taylor Greene wrote on X.‘
Taylor Green warned that Americans were disgusted with the government’s ‘never ending military aggression’ and funding the Washington ‘military machine.’‘This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end,’ she wrote. ‘Boy were we wrong.’
Both Ocasio Cortez and Taylor Greene raised concerns that Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was convicted and sentenced for 45 years for trafficking cocaine into the United States, purporting that his professed concern for stopping drug trafficking was not authentic.
US President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R), speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shared similar criticisms of President Trump
Fellow rogue Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also criticized Trump’s action, warning that it appeared less to be about drug trafficking and more about regime change and oil.
‘Trump announces he’s taken over the country and will run it until he finds someone suitable to replace him,’ Massie wrote. ‘Added bonus: says American oil companies will get to exploit the oil.’
Other Republicans endorsed Trump’s actions, including Sen. Tom Cotton who cited Maduro’s actions for drug-trafficking as the primary motivation for the raid.
‘Nicolas Maduro wasn’t just an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug-trafficking operation,’ Cotton wrote. ‘That’s why he was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.’
Sen. Mike Lee, who has long criticized the executive branch for executing military operations without authorization of Congress, also signaled initial support for the president’s action.
Senator Tom Cotton defended and praised President Trump’s actions in Venezuala
Senator Mike Lee expressed his belief that President Trump acted within his Article II powers
‘This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,’ he wrote, noting he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the raid after it was successfully completed.
Rubio defended the president’s decision to raid the presidential palace, adding that Maduro had ‘multiple opportunities’ to work with the United States to facilitate his exit from Venezuela.
‘He was provided multiple, very, very, very generous offers and chose instead to act like a wild man, chose instead to play around and the result is what we saw tonight,’ Rubio told reporters at the press conference.
Marjorie Taylor GreenePolitics
