Maine’s congressional delegation had mixed reactions to the U.S. invasion that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the sharpest criticism of President Donald Trump coming from Democrats.
Trump said the U.S. plans to “run” the country in the interim and tap its oil reserves. Maduro and his wife have been taken to New York to face criminal charges.
Here’s how politicians here reacted to news of the overnight invasion.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins
The Republican senator said in a statement that she was personally briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying Maduro was “a narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker who has been indicted twice in U.S. courts and who should stand trial in this country.”
“Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves,” she said.
Gov. Janet Mills
Mills, who is running for the Democratic nomination to face Collins in 2026, said on X that Trump was moving the U.S. “closer to a costly, unnecessary, and unjustified war” in part because he knows Republicans in Congress won’t hold him accountable.
Graham Platner
The progressive military veteran facing Mills in the primary had one of the most aggressive lines against Trump’s move, noting Collins’ vote in the Senate against a war powers resolution on Venezuela. He reacted to a Trump video touting the invasion by saying he watched friends die in Iraq in the wake of similar speeches.
“From Iraq to Venezuela, you can count on Susan Collins to enable illegal foreign wars,” he said on X.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden
Golden, a retiring Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District, told Maine Public that the invasion should not have happened without the involvement of Congress, criticizing Trump’s allusion to a handover of Venezuelan oil assets to other companies.
“Given what we have seen from this administration, my fear is this scenario could easily devolve into quagmire and corruption,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree
Trump’s move is “a breathtaking abuse of power,” the Democrat from Maine’s 1st District said in a statement. While she called Maduro “a ruthless dictator,” she said Trump does not have the power to pursue regime change without congressional approval.
“This reckless move risks destabilizing an already fragile region, puts millions of civilians at risk, and further isolates us from our friends and allies,” she said.
Former Gov. Paul LePage
The former governor, a Republican running to replace Golden, was the only Maine politician in a major 2026 race to include no criticism of Trump in a social media statement calling Maduro “illegitimate” and noting that the leader of his opposition won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“He will now face justice in court for his crimes,” LePage said.
State Auditor Matt Dunlap
The Democratic candidate for the 2nd District called Trump’s move “absolutely reckless” in a statement.
“In a functioning democracy, this kind of reckless, unilateral action would be condemned across party lines,” he said. “Instead, one party is bending over backwards to justify it.”
Jordan Wood
Wood, a former Democratic political operative who ran for the U.S. Senate before switching into the 2nd District race, said on social media that “no president can unilaterally take us to war.”
“Yes, Maduro is a lawless dictator, but that does not give Trump permission to invade,” he said.