Transcript: Sen. Tom Cotton on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 4, 2026

The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 4, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined now by the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton. Good to have you here. Senator.

SEN. TOM COTTON: Thanks, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You have oversight of the intelligence community which was deeply involved in this operation to go into Venezuela militarily and extract Nicholas Maduro and his wife. Does the US still assess that the regime in Venezuela is made up of Narco terrorists with ties to Iran, Russia, China and Cuba?

SEN. COTTON: Well, first off, let me commend not only our military; as President Trump said this was an excellent operation, only the United States military could have pulled it off, but they couldn't have pulled it off with the support -- without the support of the professionals in the intelligence community, especially at the Central Intelligence Agency, and I'm glad that we have a director, John Ratcliffe, that has restored confidence in the CIA and the president - the president has, I think the President respects the CIA as much as he ever has. It's a great day, not just for our military, for our CIA. There's no question that the people in Venezuela who are still in charge of the apparatus of the government are sanctioned and indicted officials, and they've been in league with Nicolas Maduro until just yesterday. I think President Trump wants to give them a chance to turn a new page. Now, that's happened in the past. If you look at what's happened in Syria, as you know, Ahmed al-Sharaa, used to be an Islamic terrorist. He's now effectively a pro-American leader of Syria. Muammar Gaddafi, the same way, had much blood on his hands after the Iraq War, he turned over a new page and came out of the cold. Now, the difference in those two cases is they made concrete concessions to the United States and our policy goals and interests, or they had a longer history of turning the corner like Ahmed al-Sharaa has--

MARGARET BRENNAN:-- Or it's an entirely new government.

SEN. COTTON: We've got, we've got to make sure that the people who are now in charge of the apparatus of the Venezuelan Government are not going to continue Nicholas Maduro's ways, and I think that's what the President made clear yesterday.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But it sounds like you think that's actually possible? For these individuals to cut all ties to the cartels?

SEN. COTTON: The president, the president wants to give them a chance to turn the page in Venezuela and to help America achieve our policy goals there.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How much time would you allow for that?

SEN. COTTON: I wouldn't allow much personally, but I know those conversations are ongoing. As Secretary Rubio said earlier on the show in your interview, we want them to stop the drug and the weapons trafficking. We want them to take the refugees back. We want them to kick out the Iranians, the Cubans, the Islamic radicals, like Hezbollah, and just return to being a normal nation that will help build stability, order and prosperity, not just in Venezuela, but in our backyard.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Should a free and democratic Venezuela still be a goal of the United States of America? And if so, do you hear from the administration a plan to transition to that?

SEN. COTTON:I think it should--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because Secretary Rubio wasn't--

SEN. COTTON: I think it should be a goal. The opposition leaders, Miss Machado, Mr. Gonzalez, have said they think there need to be new elections. I hope the government that's right now in place in Venezuela will allow them to return, along with many other exiles who have left, political exiles who have left Venezuela, and that in some period of time, probably is not going to be days or weeks, maybe a number of months, you can have new elections in Venezuela that are free and fair. The Venezuelan people have made clear now under Nicholas Maduro, that they do not want a Chavista regime governing them. They want to say in their own future, Venezuela has a long history of stable, orderly government that was friendly to the United States. We are their number one customer for oil, and we work together to help build prosper- prosperity and stability in our own backyard. I hope that we can do that again with the future government of Venezuela.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The CIA -- or CBS is reporting that the CIA source inside the Venezuelan government helped the US track Maduro's location leading up to this capture by the Army's Delta Force. The president said yesterday, the US should not pay out that $50 million bounty that was on the head of Maduro. Does that mean that the CIA asset inside still works for us?

SEN. COTTON: Well, I have no comment on CIA sources or methods in Venezuela or elsewhere--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But they won't be receiving the $50 million reward?

SEN. TOM COTTON: I'll simply say that the CIA's amazing work here, that has instilled such confidence in the president, is a reminder not just to Nicolas Maduro's cronies in Venezuela, but other bad guys all around the world, that we have very good insights into what they're doing and what they're up to.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So when the President says we will run Venezuela, you are confident that there are actual American assets helping to do that. Is that how I should --

SEN. COTTON: I'm confident that we have very good insight into Venezuela and other adversaries, foreign nations, and terrorist groups around the world. That's why--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why was China there?

SEN. COTTON: -- the President-- that's why the President has such confidence in John Ratcliffe and the CIA. Well, China was trying to provide support to Venezuela during a US pressure campaign. But where were they when Delta Force went in and got Nicola Maduro? They were nowhere to be found. And frankly, that's the same thing you saw in June with China and Russia in Iran. We struck Iran. China and Russia did nothing. They stood idly by. That's a reminder that the United States is still the world's dominant superpower. Our friends are very happy today. Our enemies are very worried.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the person running the country, Delsey Rodriguez, spoke yesterday with Russia's top diplomat. They are in contact with Russia. The defense minister has deep, deep ties to Russia. Is there a US, Russia agreement here? Because there has been speculation based on testimony to Congress back in 2019 by one of Trump's top Russia advisers, Fiona Hill, that Russia has been floating a Venezuela for Ukraine deal here-

SEN. COTTON: No, this--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -for some time. Is there any such deal?

SEN. COTTON: No, this was a US operation that was designed to remove Nicholas Maduro because he was a US indicted drug trafficker, and you don't get immunity from American justice when you're indicted by our courts, just because you're the illegitimate communist dictator of another country. And--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But to be clear, that's not what I'm saying here. Is there an implication that if Russia doesn't meddle in America's backyard, South America, the United States, will do something less in Ukraine--

SEN. COTTON: No, there's--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --which Russia calls its backyard?

SEN. COTTON: No, there's no such implication. And obviously, Russia doesn't need any kind of pretext to do so. It's invaded Ukraine twice over the last eleven years. There's no such implication here at all. And this is an operation the United States conducted on our own, without any coordination or cooperation from other countries to advance our national interest, which is to stop the drug trafficking and stop Venezuela from cooperating with countries like Russia and China and Cuba and Iran.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, I want to ask you about authorities here on the other side of the commercial break that we are going to take. So let me do that and come back. All right, stay with us. Senator Tom Cotton.

***COMMERCIAL***

MARGARET BRENNAN We return now to our conversation with Senate Intelligence chairman Tom Cotton, Senator Cotton, the president said Saturday that a second wave military attack had been planned. It wasn't necessary, but it could still be carried out. What would necessitate it? And what would you support?

SEN. COTTON Well, what I took the president to mean is that what we just did with Nicholas Maduro could be done again to other Venezuelan leaders. Several of them are indicted in US courts. They're sanctioned by the United States and Canada and European Union and other nations. And if they continue down the path that Maduro took, the took the nation of Venezuela, then we could conduct the same kind of operation as him. I took that as the president, urging them to change their ways or face the same consequences.

MARGARET BRENNAN And would you support a stabilization force-- US boots on the ground, as the President said he wouldn't rule out?

SEN. COTTON We already had boots on the ground, as Nicholas Maduro learned the hard way, it's always the President's option to use the American military to protect American citizens and interests. And obviously, we have many American citizens inside of Venezuela, and we have many interests and property as well. I think the president--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you know that combat and stabilization forces are--

SEN. COTTON: But I don't think he- I don't think he plans to do that. And I think we've seen too the presiden- the President's way of war over the last or over five years in office. If you look at four major operations, the killing of the ISIS leader in Syria, the drone strike against the Iranian terrorist mastermind in Iraq, the strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. And now this capture of Nicolas Maduro, when our vital national interests are implicated, the President takes bold, audacious direct action. He accomplishes the mission, and then the mission is over. In some ways, this is the greatest mission of them all. I mean, as impressive as our military was in Iran in June or in its first term in Iraq and Syria against those terrorist masterminds, it's probably harder--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. COTTON: --to capture someone and get out with no American loss of life than it is to kill a target or to blow up nuclear facilities.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you are drawing a distinction there in terms of authorities and use of the military. The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress of the reason for committing troops within 48 hours of their deployment, and requires they be removed within 60 to 90 days, unless Congress authorizes it. You okay with this open ended commitment to keep forces as they are?

SEN. TOM COTTON

Well, I think he has removed the troops. They were only there for a couple hours to nab Nicolas--

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're talking about the Delta Force operators who are on the ground.

SEN. COTTON: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But there is a significant military buildup all around South America right now.

SEN. COTTON: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're comfortable with that? Does Congress need any authority--

**CROSSTALK**

SEN. TOM COTTON: No, I strongly support it. I mean, part of, part of that, that deployment, was to collect intelligence to conduct this operation to quarantine the oil trade that Venezuela was sending to Cuba or sending to our adversaries around the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But it's not mission accomplished?

SEN. COTTON: It won't- we won't have accomplished our mission until Venezuela starts acting like a normal nation. It stops the drug trafficking and human trafficking, it kicks out Islamic radicals and Iranians and Cubans and helps the United States build a more stable, prosperous Western Hemisphere. That's the ultimate goal, and that's what President Trump laid out yesterday.

MARGARET BRENNAN So last month, the Chief of Staff to the president, Susie Wiles, told Vanity Fair that attacking targets on Venezuela's mainland, sovereign territory, would force Trump to get congressional approval. Quote, If he were to authorize some activity on land, then it's war, then we'd need Congress. You are a coequal branch of government. Why doesn't the President need you or your authority or your consultation?

SEN. TOM COTTON: Well, I consult routinely with the President and his senior advisors.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You, personally, sure. But

SEN. COTTON: Yeah. Well, as the Chairman of the intelligence committee--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But as Congress--

SEN. COTTON: As the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, they keep me apprised of what their plans are and what's going on. I mean, I spoke in the last 24 hours, not just with the President, but with his senior team, every man that was on that stage with him yesterday, Marco Rubio, John Ratcliffe, Pete Hegseth, Dan Caine, Stephen Miller. The core architect of the President's policy here, I've spoken with every single one of them in the last 24 hours. Congress has acted to provide the President the resources and authority that he needs to protect the vital interests of the United States, whether it's taking out this drug trafficker Nicolas Maduro who had contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Arkansans and hundreds of thousands of Americans, or striking Iran's nuclear facilities, he has the inherent authority under our constitution to protect these American national interests and as the chief law enforcement officer to make sure that indicted drug traffickers face justice, whether they're indicted in Venezuela or indicted in the United States.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But by his own admission, the DEA administrator said that cocaine prices have gone up nearly 45% drug traffickers have only changed routes. Venezuela is not a fentanyl producer, not a cocaine producer. Do you really think that this has ended the drug problem?

SEN. TOM COTTON Venezuela is unique in Latin America, though, because the Maduro regime is itself in league with the drug trafficking cartels. It doesn't just tolerate them, or it doesn't just fail to control its territory. It is in league and profits from drug trafficking cartels. That's the distinction between Venezuela and other nations.

MARGARET BRENNAN Senator Cotton, thank you for your time today.

SEN. COTTON: Thank you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll be right back.

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