Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope Wednesday Venezuela’s new leadership was moving toward closer relations with Washington and the United States does not expect further military action, after the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro, but brandished force if the interim leader is defiant.

In prepared testimony for a Senate hearing, Rubio had written that Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president and now acting president, "is well aware of the fate of Maduro."

President Donald Trump has ‍ordered his administration to work with Rodriguez but previously warned of further military action if her government does not comply with U.S. demands.

Rubio, a former Florida senator and member of the Senate Foreign ‌Relations Committee, told a packed Senate hearing room that while Trump would not rule out any options, "we are ‍not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to, have to take any military action in Venezuela," signaling the administration's satisfaction with Rodriguez.

"The only military presence you will see in Venezuela is our Marine guards at an embassy. That is our goal. That is our expectation," Rubio said.

Communications with Venezuela's leaders were "very respectful and productive," Rubio said, adding that he expected the U.S. would soon be able to reopen a diplomatic presence in the country. The U.S. embassy in Caracas has been shuttered since 2019, but the State Department has in recent weeks sent officials to begin preparations for its reopening.

‘Serious conversations’

"For the first time in 20 years, we are having serious conversations about eroding and eliminating the Iranian presence, the Chinese influence, the Russian presence as well. In fact, I will tell you that there are many elements there in Venezuela that welcome a return to establishing relations with the United States on multiple fronts," he said.

Rubio was due to meet at the State Department later on Wednesday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, amid questions of whether Trump would install her as Venezuela's leader ⁠to replace Maduro. Two weeks ago, Trump's fellow Republicans narrowly blocked a resolution that would have barred Trump from further military action in Venezuela without Congress' authorization. Vice President JD Vance was forced to break a tie.

Rubio told the committee Maduro had to be removed from power because Venezuela had become a base of operations for U.S. adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, and his alleged cooperation with drug traffickers was affecting the region and the United States.

"It was an untenable situation and it had to be addressed," Rubio said.

The U.S. had set up a mechanism to sell Venezuelan oil in the short term but aimed to facilitate a transition to "a friendly, stable, prosperous Venezuela" that ultimately chooses its leaders through free and fair elections, Rubio said.

‘Without precedent’

Several members of Congress, some Republicans as well as Democrats, have expressed frustration with what they say is a lack of communication from Trump officials about major operations, ‌including the capture of Maduro and the elimination of many foreign aid programs supported by Congress.

Committee Chairman Jim Risch, a Republican senator from Idaho, praised Rubio for explaining to him the administration's plans for Venezuela, despite "confusion over how it will be done." The war powers resolution appeared to be on track to pass the Senate after five Republicans joined Democrats in voting to advance it, in rare Republican opposition to Trump.

But Trump railed at the five, saying they should never again be elected to public office. He and Rubio ‍made repeated calls encouraging senators to change their votes by insisting there were no U.S. troops in Venezuela, and with promises including Rubio's agreement to come before the Senate committee. Two of them, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana, flipped their positions.

The close vote reflected concern ‍in Congress about Trump's foreign policy and ‍growing support for the argument that Congress should take back the power to send U.S. troops to war from ⁠the president, as spelled out in the Constitution.

Members of Congress, including some of Trump's ‍fellow Republicans, said Rubio had insisted the administration did not plan a leadership change in Venezuela just days before U.S. troops removed Maduro, and that oil company executives were told about the operation before lawmakers.

Some Democrats also raised concerns that the U.S. could be pulled into another long war without consulting Congress.

"The scope of the project that you are undertaking in Venezuela is without precedent," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said. "You are taking their oil at gunpoint. You are holding and selling that oil, putting for now ⁠the receipts in an offshore Middle Eastern ‌account. You're deciding how and for what purposes that money is going to be used in a country of 30 million people. I think a lot of us believe that that is destined for failure."