Sen. Mike Lee initially questioned the constitutionality of the U.S. military strike on Venezuela early Saturday that captured the country’s president.
“I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Lee wrote on X at 1:22 a.m. Mountain time Saturday.
In a reply to that post, Lee added that it was “too soon to say whether this is an ‘unconstitutional action.’”
“But we need some answers,” he wrote at 1:37 a.m. Mountain time.
The roughly 30-minute strike to Venezuela’s capital of Caracas was an apparently unilateral U.S. action, The Associated Press reported. American officials later announced that both President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested and will face narco-terrorism charges in the U.S.
(Matias Delacroix | AP) Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.
About two hours after Lee’s initial post, the Utah senator who has previously been short-listed as a Supreme Court nominee shared on X that he came to a conclusion.
He did so just after he “got off the phone” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lee wrote at 3:16 a.m. Mountain time.
“He informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant,” Lee continued.
“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,” Lee concluded, thanking Rubio for “keeping me apprised.”
When one commenter replied, arguing that “see,” Lee “didn’t have to panic,” Lee replied: “Raising questions about authority isn’t panicking.”
The constitutional article Lee cited vests executive power in the president, making the office the nation’s chief executive and commander in chief. It also outlines the president’s authority over foreign affairs and appointments.
‘I will never apologize for raising constitutional questions’
Not everyone agreed with Lee’s conclusion. In a statement, Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine wrote President Donald Trump’s “unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro — however terrible he is — is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere.”
Utah’s Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Mike Kennedy both signaled early Saturday they were seeking clarity.
“I’ve stood on the border between Venezuela and Colombia and witnessed the level of human suffering inflicted by the Maduro regime,” Curtis wrote on X at 7:13 a.m. Mountain time. “I’ve seen the human cost of failed authoritarian socialism made even worse by the ties to drug cartels, terrorist groups, Russia, and Iran which threaten Americans in our own hemisphere.”
He continued: “As Chair of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I expect a full and timely briefing on the nature, scope, and impact of these actions.”
Kennedy also wrote in an X post at 9:36 a.m. Mountain time that he is “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela and the Trump administration’s response,” adding that he awaits “President Trump’s further clarity regarding the scope and strategic intent of these actions.”
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens in an X post Saturday seemed supportive, writing, “American forces acted with courage, discipline, and precision to apprehend Nicolás Maduro,” whom he added was “never a legitimate head of Venezuela.”
“I am deeply grateful to those who executed this action and thankful that no American lives were lost,” Owens continued.
Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Blake Moore did not immediately comment Saturday.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Moira Hicks, left, and Jannah Marie wave flags Venezuelan flags as they join protesters rallying outside the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation.
Lee’s posts drew pushback from commenters, with some telling him to “get a grip” and to “Stop being so quick to oppose President Trump.”
Lee defended himself, arguing at 3:23 a.m. Mountain time that he “Didn’t oppose Trump.”
“I asked a question that needed to be asked,” he continued. “I quickly received an answer from his Secretary of State.”
In response to another critic, he wrote, “I will never apologize for raising constitutional questions that too often go unaddressed.”
Lee did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune.
As a lawyer, Lee has clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at both the high court and circuit court level. He previously served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Utah before serving as general counsel to former Gov. Jon Huntsman. He has held his Senate seat since 2011.
Lee was a “Never Trumper” in 2016, when he voted for independent Evan McMullin in protest and earlier was part of an effort at the Republican National Convention to replace Trump with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz as party nominee.
He later changed his tune, signing on as co-chair of Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign in Utah and delivering 40 delegate votes to Trump at the 2020 convention. He regularly praises the president.
Maduro and his wife were apprehended overnight from their home on a military base, then boarded onto a U.S. warship to New York, The Associated Press reported.
In a news conference Saturday, Trump said the U.S. will run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place and tap into its oil reserves, selling “large amounts” to other nations.
He added the U.S. is prepared for a “second wave” of strikes if necessary, but suggested that seemed unlikely given “the first attack was so successful.”
Lee wrote on X at 3:18 a.m. Mountain time that Rubio “anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
Protesters gather in Salt Lake City to decry attack
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Protesters rally outside the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a military operation.
On Saturday afternoon in Utah, about 150 protesters gathered near the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to decry the attack, calling for “No U.S. war on Venezuela.”
Together, the group chanted, “No more coups, no more wars,” as several held signs and waved the Venezuelan flag.
“We have fought to establish democratic rights for Latin Americans all over the world, which is why we support Venezuela’s right to determine their own destiny — to determine their own future — without any intervention from the United States,” said one protester, Chantal Irungaray.
She said she is a member of the University of Utah’s chapter of MECHA, a national organization that initially represented Latino students and stood for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán; “MECHA” translates to fuse or wick. It has since shifted into more of a political group for all underrepresented populations.
Irungaray said the attack “must be condemned by anyone that believes in sovereignty.”
Another protester, Adrian Rollins, called Trump’s actions “colonialism.”
Rollins said he is an Iraq War veteran and organizer with About Face Veterans, a group of post-9/11 service members and veterans against “permanent war.”
“Deeply informed by Vietnam Veterans Against the War before us,” the group’s website states, “we are part of a legacy of service members organizing against the wars that we served in.”
Rollins said he can see “a repeat of the war in Iraq” and “a repeat of what we did in Vietnam” after the Saturday attack.
“There’s nothing democracy — democratic — about claiming the land of someone else," he said. “That’s colonial.”
By Sunday evening, Maduro and his wife had arrived in New York, The Associated Press reported.