Zinke supports Trump’s action in Venezuela but sees no basis for action in Greenland

Amna Nawaz:

Well, while the War Powers Resolution to limit further action in Venezuela was introduced in the Senate today, its future in the House is less certain.

And for a Republican perspective, I spoke earlier with Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke.

Congressman Zinke, welcome back to the NewsHour. Thank you for joining us.

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT):

It would be my pleasure.

Amna Nawaz:

There’s a lot of activity on Capitol Hill today.

I want to ask you first not about what happened in the House, but about what we saw in the Senate, where some of your Republican colleagues broke ranks, joined with Democrats and voted to advance a war powers resolution that would limit the president’s ability to take further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.

How do you look at that? Was that the right move, and would you support a similar move in the House of Representatives?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, there’s always been a tension between Article One, Congress, and Article Two, the President.

In this case, I will side with Article 1 of the Constitution. The president has this power. And in Venezuela, it’s important to realize that if you look at Panama, which was justified under three conditions – one is that Venezuela, in this case, Maduro, was a threat to the United States because he was trafficking drugs; 52 pages of the indictment say he was.

Second, he was not a legitimate leader, which means the elections were fraudulent. In Panama, we also had the Panama Canal, but going forward, the president had the authority to go ahead and remove Maduro. So I don’t think there’s any question about reality or the Constitution.

I think the big question in Venezuela is: what next? When you practice the Monroe Doctrine, it’s a two-way street. It comes with the responsibility of making sure that now, since Maduro’s ouster, the conditions have been created in which Venezuela can thrive.

Amna Nawaz:

I want to ask you more about what’s next in Venezuela, but just to follow up on congressional authority here, the president has also threatened unilateral action in other countries, in Colombia, Mexico, Iran, and Greenland.

When, in your view, does he need congressional approval to take this action?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, yes, good question.

I think this is it. Number one, with the president, he never takes anything off the table. This is President Donald J. Trump. But in Greenland, for example, the conditions that require congressional approval are in place, because in the case of Venezuela, there was a leader accused of drug trafficking. This is not the case in Greenland.

Secondly, Greenland produces – and does not pose a threat to us. Finally, they have duly elected authority in Greenland. Therefore, I believe that military action in the Greenland case would require congressional approval under the law and the Constitution.

Amna Nawaz:

So, only in Greenland, not with the other countries I mentioned there; Is this correct?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, in — let’s say in Colombia, if Colombia continues its drug trafficking operations.

And now, their leader has been duly elected. So this will not be the case. But the president also has a constitutional responsibility to make sure that we protect this country. Drugs coming into this country kill more people than, for example, a missile. So, if the president sees that there’s a threat, and that threat is real, in the case of drugs, I think that’s probably going to be on the table.

But, again, what I appreciate is taking the necessary measures, but within the framework of the Constitution. I think this is important.

Amna Nawaz:

One of the questions we heard a lot is, if this was really about drugs, and Maduro was a drug trafficker, as I also called him, why would he leave his vice president, who is now president, who was part of this whole system? What kind of message does that send?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, what the message is saying is to listen and make sure you receive guidance. When the president says we have things under control, I can tell you that the current administration in Venezuela doesn’t have a lot of freedom to do much other than follow international law and basically do what they’re told to make sure Venezuela prospers.

In the case of oil, it’s not about the oil. Remember, Venezuela had the largest number of Hezbollah and Hamas outside the Middle East. The main influencers in Venezuela were the Cubans, not because the Cubans wanted to be there, but because Cuba provided a security force around Maduro because he did not have the support of the population itself.

So, in the case of Venezuela, what I prefer is that we emerge as liberators, not victors, and provide the means for Venezuela to hold free and fair elections and to prosper. The oil – maybe it will go to a third country, insofar as it is kept, and then that oil will be distributed in the interests of the Venezuelan people, which will be beneficial.

Amna Nawaz:

We’ve also now seen President Trump say he expects US oversight of Venezuela, both government and managing the country’s oil supply, to continue for years.

In your opinion, does this send a message that we are liberators and not invaders?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

I have great confidence in Venezuela to hold free and fair elections. Some of the problems are that the opposition is not united.

So, if you want to have free and fair elections, you want to make sure there is a legitimate opposition. Most of the opponents, frankly, are not in the country because they were forced to leave under the Maduro regime. So I’m confident, first, that we will see a plan from the administration.

It is difficult to dictate a plan when the operation is secret, as it was required to be. I think that from now on, what I would like to see is a detailed plan to move forward, what milestones need to be reached, making sure that Venezuela is free and fair and removing foreign influence, especially from our adversaries.

Amna Nawaz:

If I may, Congressman, I think the opposition in Venezuela would argue that it is in fact united. They won about 70 percent of the vote in that 2024 election. So how quickly would you like to see some kind of democratic transition in that country?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, I would like to see a plan that defines the period between tomorrow and the end of the year to include free and fair elections.

And I think Secretary Rubio and his team are looking at that. And look, the sooner the better. The sooner we move towards free and fair elections, representing the people and ensuring that their resources go to help Venezuela. Resources are depleted, far below the market.

The idea is to make sure that these resources go — they are sold on the open market at a fair price and then they go into a deposit account and then they are distributed to make sure that the Venezuelan people benefit, not just the regime. But regarding your previous point about the existing system, you are right. They are not our first choice. They hardly have a good reputation. And I don’t trust them. I don’t think we should as a nation either.

But, at the moment, they have very little freedom to get out of what America demands, which is that this is it. You cannot transfer. You can’t be a drug dealer, you have to start an election transition.

Amna Nawaz:

Congressman, before I leave you, I just want to briefly ask you about your vote today, which was against extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced benefits that expired at the end of last year. I think about 10,000 Montanans qualified for that last year.

In short, what is your message to them about your plan to help them afford health care?

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Well, how about not spending any more money on a broken system? I think the goal of any health care, especially in the United States, is what? Access, affordability and quality care. Obamacare did not achieve that.

So let’s learn not only how to reduce costs, but how to get better care. And Covid extensions – Covid is over. Now, I think everyone realizes that health care costs are very high and very high. But why not look at insurance companies? Why don’t we look at the medications the president is doing?

Insurance companies make billions of dollars, billions of dollars. Who has control over that? So I think we need to go back and start from the beginning and say, this is what we want. We want good care. We want to make sure that access to care and affordability and make sure that rural hospitals in Montana matter and $50 billion to support rural hospitals in Montana.

So I hope both sides realize that health care is a problem. Obamacare–There is a lot of good in Obamacare, especially pre-existing conditions. But there are a lot of things that didn’t work, especially giving preference to insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

Amna Nawaz:

Well, this is Congressman Ryan Zinke, Republican from Montana, joining us tonight.

Congressman, thank you. It’s good to talk to you.

Representative Ryan Zinke:

Always a pleasure.