President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 3, 2026. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) (L) listens to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Washington on Jan. 3, 2025. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and one of the oldest members, said he plans to retire rather than run for another term. “I did not want to be one
Vice President JD Vance in Alburtis, Pa., on Dec. 16, 2025. Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the United States will allow Venezuela to sell oil only if those sales advance U.S. national interests, describing Washington’s emerging energy policy toward the country as a tool of diplomatic leverage that avoids
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times WASHINGTON—The House will vote Jan. 8 on whether to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes of two bills. Trump issued the first two vetoes of his second term on Dec. 31. One bill was designed to help finance the construction of a
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times The House of Representatives voted on Jan. 8 not to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes of two bills. The tally for the first bill was 236–188, while the tally for the second was 248–177. Neither vote garnered the necessary two-thirds majority
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times WASHINGTON—The Senate will vote on Jan. 8 on a resolution to prohibit the U.S. military from acting further in Venezuela without congressional approval. “The question of whether United States forces should be engaged in hostilities within or against Venezuela should be
With the U.S. capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in a bold Jan. 3 military raid and a large naval force still prowling the southern Caribbean to ensure that Maduro’s successors cooperate with the Trump administration, other subtle, but key, developments in the region can be overlooked. Among under-the-wire events is a December 2025 agreement