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** OPINION
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** On the Sunday shows, the White House called it law enforcement. Democrats called it war.
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In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. on Saturday. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

Good morning. We return after a long holiday break and we’re certainly not easing into the new year.

We all woke up Saturday morning to the stunning news that the United States carried out a large-scale military strike against Venezuela. The U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

We learned Saturday from Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that President Donald Trump ordered the attack late Friday. The operation took just under three hours and involved 150 aircraft that dismantled Venezuela’s air defense.

The New York Times’ Aimee Ortiz, Hannah Ziegler and Yan Zhuang reported ([link removed]) , “U.S. forces encountered significant resistance, Mr. Trump said. At least 80 people were killed, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports. No Americans were killed, Mr. Trump said. Two U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said that about half a dozen soldiers were injured in the operation.”

Few would argue that Maduro being unseated as president is a bad thing. As Axios’ Neal Rothschild wrote ([link removed]) , “To the White House, Maduro was a source of problems that extended well beyond Venezuela. Officials saw him as a bad guy who helped to prop up other bad guys in the Western Hemisphere.”

But the question is: Did Trump have the authority for such a maneuver? Should he have sought approval from Congress?

In a news conference Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the operation was a “law enforcement” one, not a military action. During an appearance on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC, Rubio said, “I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organizations, not a war against Venezuela.”

Rubio added, “We will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval … and this is not an operation that required congressional approval.”

However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared after Rubio on “Meet the Press” and told moderator Kristen Welker, “There’s been no evidence that the administration has presented to justify the actions that were taken in terms of there being an imminent threat to the health, the safety, the well-being, the national security of the American people. This was not simply a counternarcotics operation. It was an act of war.”


** Holding back
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Semafor’s Max Tani and Shelby Talcott reported ([link removed]) that The New York Times and The Washington Post both knew of the U.S. plans before Friday’s operation began and held off reporting it to avoid endangering U.S. troops.

Tani and Talcott wrote, “The decisions in the New York and Washington newsrooms to maintain official secrecy is in keeping with longstanding American journalistic traditions — even at a moment of unprecedented mutual hostility between the American president and a legacy media that continues to dominate national security reporting. And it offers a rare glimpse at a thread of contact and even cooperation over some of the highest-stakes American national security issues.”

In talking about the attack during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Rubio seemingly confirmed the Semafor report by telling moderator George Stephanopoulos, “You know, it had to be at the right place at the right time with the right weather, and all things like that. So those are very difficult to notify, but the No. 1 reason is operational security. We would have put people in harm's way, and frankly a number of media outlets had gotten leaks that this was coming and held it for that very reason, and we thank them for doing that, or lives could have been lost.”


** The Times and Post reactions
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Not long after the news broke on Saturday, the editorial boards of the Times and Post quickly wrote reactions — and they took quite opposing views.

The Post, whose owner, Jeff Bezos, and editorial board have been leaning more conservative in the 18 months, supported the invasion. The editorial board wrote ([link removed]) , “Millions of people around the world, most of all in Venezuela, are celebrating the downfall of the dictator Nicolás Maduro. President Donald Trump’s decision to capture him on Saturday was one of the boldest moves a president has made in years, and the operation was an unquestionable tactical success. The next step is ensuring that this triumph sets Venezuela up for stability and prosperity rather than more of the same, or worse.”

The Post’s board celebrated America’s military, intelligence and cyber capabilities as “second to none” and declared the operation as “a major victory for American interests.” The board admitted the uncertainty of what happens next in Venezuela and that clarity is “critical to winning broader support for more involvement going forward.”

It added, “With tough decisions coming and many obstacles ahead, it’s fair to look forward. Yet it’s also fair to celebrate. For years, Maduro was a symbol of the false warmth of Latin American collectivism. Now he should spend the rest of his life in a humane American prison. His downfall is good news.”

However, the Times editorial had this headline: “Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise.” ([link removed])

While the Times admitted that Maduro was “undemocratic and repressive” and, generally, awful, it also wrote, “If there is an overriding lesson of American foreign affairs in the past century, however, it is that attempting to oust even the most deplorable regime can make matters worse. The United States spent 20 years failing to create a stable government in Afghanistan and replaced a dictatorship in Libya with a fractured state. The tragic consequences of the 2003 war in Iraq continue to beset America and the Middle East. Perhaps most relevant, the United States has sporadically destabilized Latin American countries, including Chile, Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua, by trying to oust a government through force.”

The Times also reminded us of Trump’s campaign assertion: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.” The Times added, “He is now abandoning this principle, and he is doing so illegally. The Constitution requires Congress to approve any act of war.”

The Times made a strong case for why Trump didn’t seek Congressional approval. It wasn’t because, as Rubio has asserted, that he didn’t need it. Trump likely knew he wouldn’t have gotten it.

The Times wrote, “We suspect Mr. Trump has refused to seek congressional approval for his actions partly because he knows that even some Republicans in Congress are deeply skeptical of the direction in which he is leading this country.”


** Calling the president
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The attack on Venezuela happened overnight Friday into Saturday. Trump made the announcement with a Truth Social post at 4:21 a.m. Eastern time. Ten minutes after that post, New York Times White House correspondent Tyler Pager called the president.

Trump answered after three rings ([link removed]) .

They talked for only 50 seconds, but Trump celebrated the mission’s success, telling Pager, “A lot of good planning and a lot of great, great troops and great people. It was a brilliant operation, actually.”

Trump then deferred all other questions, including whether or not he had sought congressional approval, to the news conference that would be held later that morning.

In an interview with the Times’ Megan DiTrolio ([link removed]) , Pager said, “I just called him directly and he picked up. I wasn’t that surprised because the president’s phone habits are pretty well-documented — he regularly picks up calls from reporters. He said, ‘Hello,' and I jumped right in. I told him I was calling from The New York Times and had questions about the operation.”

Pager said it was the first time he ever called Trump’s cell. Pager admitted that Trump really didn’t say much in their brief conversation.

Still, it’s fascinating, and unusual, to be able to reach a president like that, isn’t it?

Pager told DiTrolio, “Mr. Trump has been talking to reporters for decades, dating back to his time as a real estate developer in New York. And we know that he likes to be accessible — not just to reporters, but to lawmakers, staff, friends and foreign leaders. It is certainly a different style than that of his predecessors. As a point of comparison, during my four years covering Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidency, I never had an interview with him. And I tried! In fact, while I was working on a book about the 2024 presidential election, I was stonewalled in my efforts to interview Mr. Biden after he left office. I eventually reached him directly on his cellphone, and after a short interview, his aides changed his phone number.”


** Calling his ‘friends’
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Before his 11 a.m. Eastern nationally televised news conference on Saturday, Trump called into Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” to, as CNN’s Brian Stelter put it ([link removed]) , take a “victory lap of sorts.” Trump said, “If you would have seen what happened, I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence … just, it was an amazing thing, an amazing job that these people did.”


** Getting an early start
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Tony Dokoupil, shown here making his debut as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” on Saturday. (Courtesy: CBS News)

CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil was supposed to make his much-anticipated debut as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” tonight, but the weekend’s breaking news prompted the debut to be moved up to Saturday. Dokoupil anchored from San Francisco and much of his first newscast was an extensive interview with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Reports are that new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss lined up the interview with Hegseth.

Dokoupil did a decent job of at least trying to press Hegseth on what the short-term future of Venezuela would look like — specifically, who would be “running” the country. Hegseth never really gave a clear answer.

The original plan for Dokoupil was to make his anchoring debut tonight with a two-week tour of American cities. However, Dokoupil is expected to anchor tonight’s newscast from New York and the American tour will kick off at a later time.

By the way, NBC and ABC also called up their main anchors for their evening newscasts on Saturday. NBC’s Tom Llamas and ABC’s David Muir were at their desks. In addition, MS NOW brought in Rachel Maddow to help lead Saturday’s breaking news coverage.


** Speaking of Weiss
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The big media news that broke over the holiday break was Weiss killing a “60 Minutes” story about the notorious El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration deported Venezuelan migrants last March. The “60 Minutes” story had been reported by the respected correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, and was pulled within hours of when it was set to air. Weiss reportedly felt the story was not ready for air, even though it had gone through five internal screenings — none of which were attended by Weiss. (That particular fact didn’t go over well with “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, who, according to The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum ([link removed]) , said, “It’s not a part-time job.”)

Weiss apparently wanted “60 Minutes” to get an on-the-record comment from Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, or someone of his stature. However, Alfonsi told colleagues in an email that she had sought comments and interviews from the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department.

Alfonsi told colleagues in an email, “If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient."

Alfonsi wrote to colleagues that she believed the decision to hold the story was “not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

Weiss also told staff that the “60 Minutes” story didn’t “advance the ball” on reporting already done by other outlets. Weiss has said she is committed to eventually airing the segment.

However, Weiss could not have planned a worse way to introduce herself to a staff that was already dubious of a new boss who has no TV experience.

Weiss was an opinion columnist who started her own website and now she’s telling the gold-standard of TV news — the venerable “60 Minutes” — what is appropriate for air? Her decision, and how she went about it, might please her big boss (new Paramount CEO David Ellison) and maybe even the current administration. But it likely has done some lasting damage to her relationship with those just as critical: her staff.


** And speaking of Alfonsi
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Alfonsi did have a story on Sunday night’s “60 Minutes.” No, it wasn’t her prison story. It was about American Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu.


** Media tidbits
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* The Independent’s Justin Baragona with “A private plane and ‘Bari pitches’ including jet-skiing with DJ Khaled: Inside Weiss’ chaotic ‘CBS Evening News’ Reboot.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Sarah Bahr with “Behind the Scenes of Our Nicolás Maduro Front Page.” ([link removed])
* The New York Post’s Charles Gasparino with “Paramount Skydance running out of patience for WBD’s refusals of ‘sweetened’ takeover offer.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin with “NPR’s C.E.O. Was a Right-Wing Target. Then the Real Trouble Started.” ([link removed])
* Variety’s Michael Schneider with “MTV Didn’t Shut Down on New Year’s Eve, Despite Social Media Posts — but the Music Left a Long Time Ago.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* What did I do during my holiday break? Well, one of the things I did was binge-watch the first season of “The Pitt,” the superb fictional drama set in an emergency room in Pittsburgh. Season two of this sensational HBO Max show starring Noah Wyle premieres on Thursday. Here’s The New York Times Magazine’s Sam Anderson with “On ‘The Pitt,’ E.R. Doctors Try to Fix This Broken World.” ([link removed])
* And in a piece for “CBS News Sunday Morning,” CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook has “Behind the scenes of ‘The Pitt.’” ([link removed])
* And here’s “CBS News Sunday Morning’s” extended interview ([link removed]) with Wyle, the show’s star.


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* Join a foundational career and leadership development 101 course — fully virtual for ambitious media professionals without direct reports. Apply now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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