Secretary Rubio scheduled to face former colleagues on Venezuela policy

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US forces seize Venezuelan oil tanker in latest operation

The U.S. military seized another Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean, with support from the Department of Homeland Security, Jan. 20, according to U.S. Southern Command. (Southcom via X)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to publicly testify on the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela in the Senate next week.

Returning to his old stomping grounds in the Senate has become fairly routine for Rubio over the last few months, particularly as lawmakers have demanded more transparency over the administration’s actions in Venezuela and the Caribbean.

And once again, Rubio will appear on the Hill when the Senate returns from recess next week, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. He is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m.

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Rubio has laid out the United States' three-phase plan for Venezuela. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The hearing before the panel comes after Rubio acted as a key figure to convince a pair of holdouts — Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. — to flip their votes and kill an attempt by Senate Democrats to rein in President Donald Trump's war authorities last week.

Their primary concerns were that the administration would put boots on the ground in the region, and that Congress should have a say if that were the case.

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Sen. James Risch, Republican from Idaho, speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republicans policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Through assurances, guarantees and an agreement to publicly testify on the matter, Rubio appeared to win them over.

Young said at the time that he had to "accept that this was a communications exercise," but noted that it was a moment used to "shine a bright light on Congress' shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history."

Rubio also wrote to Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, ahead of the vote last week to spell out that the administration would clue in Congress should any future military action take place in the region.

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is just getting started on his pursuit to rein in President Donald Trump's war authorities across the globe and plans to file even more war powers resolutions in the coming weeks. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He then re-upped that same message to Young, where he said that should Trump "determine that he intends to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in major military operations in Venezuela, he would seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting)."

Still, despite these guarantees to Republicans, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who sits on the committee, plans to continue his quest to corral Trump’s war authorities.

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Kaine said before lawmakers left Washington that he planned to "file every one I can to challenge emergencies, to challenge unlawful wars, to seek human rights reports, arms transfers if they're wrong."