Top Republican Won't Hold Hearings On Strikes Off Venezuela Despite Criticism From Dems: 'Comfortable With Where We Are'

A top Republican said he has no plans to hold oversight hearings on the Trump administration's strikes off the coast of Venezuela despite mounting questioning from Democrats.

Concretely, Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch said he has no plans "at this time" to hold the hearings, telling Axios he has been "briefed on it and feel comfortable with where we are."

Risch's assessment was backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who told the outlet that he thinks the administration has "very good intelligence when it comes to the strikes that they've initiated."

"So my sense was that, once hearing the explanation, I didn't think that anybody had any particular reservations," he said about a closed-door lunch with Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month.

However, there are some cracks among Republicans. Sen Todd Young said on Thursday he is seeking to "learn more" about the campaign, telling Axios that "Congress isn't hearing enough — in any form, including a public forum." He went on to say that lawmakers need to be involved in the discussion of legal ramifications of the strikes.

"I think Congress needs to go further. Rather than just asserting our ability to authorize military force — which we certainly need to do — we also need to officially bring to close these conflicts and make clear that we have constitutional prerogatives that need to be consistently asserted," Young added. He has also asked for the Upper House's Foreign Relations Committee to hold oversight hearings.

Moreover, Sen. Rand Paul joined a bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, which will force a vote to stop Trump from unilaterally declaring war on the South American country.

Paul addressed the move in a social media publication, claiming "it's imperative that we make it clear that war powers reside with Congress, not the president."

Trump seemingly intends to move ahead with the campaign despite the reservations. "I don't think we're necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we're just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We're going to kill them. They're going to be, like dead," he said on Thursday, claiming the administration intends to take on cartels operating in the country and led by regime members.

Maduro, on his end, said his regime has "more than 5,000" Russian-made Igla-S surface-to-air missiles positioned across the country, warning that they stand ready to defend the country should the U.S. conduct strikes in its territory.