Lawmakers are keenly aware of the costs of running a country due to the nation’s skyrocketing debt, but now another expense may be added to Congress’ tab — Venezuela. 

President Donald Trump hasn’t backed down from his position that the U.S. will run Venezuela after the surprise strikes and capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That’s left some on Capitol Hill wondering what the price tag will be, considering Venezuela’s bleak economy. 

Like most issues in Washington, D.C., there’s a strong partisan divide on how lawmakers expect running Venezuela will shake out. Senate Republicans believe that the vast petroleum, natural gas and mineral reserves will be enough to foot the bill and cause oil companies to come running to dump money into the region. 

And fiscal hawks in the Senate, who routinely sound the alarm over rampant government spending, believe that running the country will be a financial boon for the U.S.

‘I would envision there’s so much money to be made that the oil companies will show up, and they’ll pay for everything,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. 

That’s a shared calculus among several other Republicans, who contend that any cost incurred from stewarding the country during the transition period would be leveraged by the colossal reserves of crude oil creeping underground. 

‘That’s the whole point,’ Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital.

There could already be a wrench in that plan following a meeting between Trump and several top oil executives at the White House last week. The roster of companies in attendance Friday touched nearly every choke point in Venezuela’s oil sector, including production, services, trading and refining. The sheer weight of that lineup underscored what is at stake for global energy policy, with the United States squarely at the center.

And ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told the administration that Venezuela was ‘uninvestable,’ which prompted Trump to suggest that he’d be ‘inclined to keep Exxon out.’

And despite lawmakers’ optimistic outlook, the economic reality on the ground in Venezuela is stark. 

Venezuela once had the makings of an economic powerhouse, but years of mismanagement and international sanctions have hollowed out the economy, leaving behind a much smaller, debt-laden nation.

Precise figures are difficult to verify because Venezuela has not published comprehensive financial data in years. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the economy will total about $82.8 billion in 2025, which is roughly the size of Maine’s economic output.

What’s more, Venezuela’s debt is roughly 200% of its economy. In simple terms, the country owes about $2 for every dollar it produces.

Those pressures are compounded by runaway inflation. The IMF forecasts eye-watering inflation, with consumer prices expected to rise by more than 680% in 2026, underscoring the continued strain on Venezuela’s economy and households.

That collapse is inseparable from Venezuela’s oil industry, once the backbone of national wealth. Petroleum revenues long underwrote government spending and social programs, leaving the economy acutely vulnerable as production fell, infrastructure decayed and sanctions tightened.

Even in its diminished state, oil remains Venezuela’s most consequential asset. The country holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven crude — the largest in the world, eclipsing established energy titans like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait — underlining its potential if production and investment return.

The potential cost of reinvigorating Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, coupled with the prior military operation and any other costs accumulated from running the country, is emblematic of the growing rift between the Hill and the White House, where Trump has routinely run roughshod over lawmakers in his decision-making. 

Senate Democrats want to claw back some of that authority through the appropriations process, where they could try to limit the flow of taxpayer dollars toward Venezuela.

‘Congress should be involved,’ Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital. ‘And we must be involved because we have the power of the purse, we have appropriations authority, and we need better and more information to make these decisions about how the taxpayer funds are spent in support of these military or intelligence operations.’ 

Some of that action is already taking place. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., whose war powers resolution to curtail future use of military force in Venezuela without congressional approval survived its first procedural test on Thursday, said lawmakers were having discussions tweaking the defense spending bill to ‘block appropriated defense funds from being used in certain actions that haven’t been authorized by Congress.’

Senate Republicans, despite cries from the other side of the aisle to regain some modicum of congressional oversight over the Venezuela situation, are firm in their belief that Venezuela’s oil, not American taxpayers’ money, will foot the bill.

‘We’re going to use Venezuelan resources to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for what we’ve already spent there, and we’re going to use Venezuelan resources to help rebuild their own country,’ Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. ‘The taxpayer is not going to be on the hook for one cent of this.’

The Islamic Republic of Iran may have more than eight American citizens and residents in its captivity, Fox News Digital can reveal based on information from sources outside the Trump Administration who are well-versed with Tehran’s hostage-taking policy system.

Information shows that the total number of Americans citizens and residents held hostage by the Iranian regime could exceed the open-source data listing five American hostages in Iran.

Iran’s regime arrested a U.S. citizen, Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old from Great Neck, New York, who went to Iran to visit family members last May. Iranian authorities arrested Hekmati in July 2025 and charged him with ‘making a trip to Israel’ 13 years prior to his visit to Iran. Hekmati, a Persian Jew who was born in Iran, traveled to Israel in 2012 to attend his son’s Bar Mitzvah.

Iran bans Iranians from traveling to the Jewish state and any relations with Israel. Tehran considers Hekmati an Iranian citizen because the regime does not recognize dual citizenship.

The regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Hekmati to four years in prison, and he is being held in Iran’s infamous Evin Prison — a complex that is reportedly used to torture political prisoners and dissidents. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) noted Hekmati has also been held at an intelligence ministry facility in Tehran. CNN reported that Hekmati suffers from bladder cancer.

The regime arrested another U.S. citizen, Afarin Mohajer, on Sept. 29, 2025 at Imam Khomeini International Airport. The human rights group, HRANA, said there was no information about the charges leveled against the Californian resident. 

According to U.S. government outlet Radio Farda that reports on Iran, Mohajer has an inoperable brain tumor and was told by ‘a doctor before going to prison that she does not have long to live,’ citing her son. She visited Iran to take care of her husband’s finances following his death, the son said. While released in December on bail, she is not allowed to leave Iran.

The authorities arrested an unnamed Iranian American woman in December 2024. She was released from prison, but the authorities seized the passports of the dual national, and she is also barred from leaving Iran.

The former Radio Farda journalist Reza Valizadeh traveled to Iran in March 2024 to visit relatives, according to a report by United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) on American hostages held in Iran.  

The U.S. government outlet Voice of America, like Radio Farda, reports on Iran, said Valizadeh was reportedly arrested in September 2024 and charged with ‘collaborating with overseas-based Persian media.’

The charge was later changed to ‘collaborating with a hostile government.’ UANI noted that ‘VOA cited sources claiming that Valizadeh was arrested for not cooperating with the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization and Iran’s intelligence ministry and for not expressing regret for his journalism.’

The regime arrested Shahab Dalili, a permanent U.S. resident who lives in Virginia, in 2016.

The UANI report stated that Taghato, a Farsi-language news outlet operated by Iranians living in the U.S., posted on Twitter (now X) that the Iranian regime arrested Dalili in March 2016. He went to Iran after his father’s death. The opaque Iranian regime judicial system sentenced him to 10 years in prison for ‘allegedly cooperating with a hostile government.’

A U.S. State Department official told Fox News Digital that ‘As Secretary Rubio has said, President Trump is working to secure the release of detained Americans around the world. The Iranian regime has a long history of unjustly and wrongfully detaining other countries’ citizens as hostages for use as political leverage. Iran should release these individuals immediately.’

The U.S. official added that ‘Due to security considerations with respect to ongoing cases, we do not disclose specific numbers of hostages.’

Barry Rosen, a former American diplomat and survivor of the Iran hostage crisis that took place in 1979 when Islamist revolutionary students took a group of 66 Americans captive, told Fox News Digital, in the wake of the nationwide revolts against the regime, ‘We are in a very intractable situation right now’ and expressed skepticism about bringing the hostages back under the current situation.

The nationwide strikes and demonstrations to topple the regime with respect to securing the hostage’s release ‘make it even more complicated,’ Rosen said, adding that hostage diplomacy ‘has always been complicated.’ Rosen was eventually released having spent 444 days in captivity.

‘Quiet diplomacy is the best way to go, but I don’t think there is any way for quiet diplomacy right now,’ he said.

When discussing ‘quiet diplomacy,’ Rosen said he was ‘talking about dealing with the hostage situation with Iran, given all our differences on the nuclear situation between both countries. But when it comes to the uprising in Iran, we need to loudly support a democratic Iran.’

Rosen, who considers Iran his second home, said, ‘I want to see the Iranian people do what they are doing now, so the Iranian regime implodes by itself.’ He said, ‘Support for uprisings (and protests) is the right way to go. I am fearful of any military operations that could cause chaos in the country.’

Rosen co-founded the non-government organization Hostage Aid Worldwidewhich provides current information on hostages held outside the U.S.

Navid Mohebbi, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the U.S. State Department’s Public Affairs Bureau, wrote a booklet on ‘Breaking the Trend: How to Combat the Hostage-Taking Business in Iran’ for the U.S.-based National Union for Democracy in Iran.

He told Fox News Digital, ‘Iran’s hostage-taking is not a series of isolated cases; it is a systematic state policy designed to extract political and economic concessions. The Islamic Republic has learned that detaining Americans and other Western nationals carries little cost and often produces tangible rewards — whether sanctions relief, access to frozen assets or asymmetric prisoner swaps. As long as this behavior is treated as a humanitarian problem rather than a coercive strategy, Tehran will continue to rely on hostage-taking as a core tool of statecraft.’

He continued, ‘To reverse this pattern, the United States must impose consequences that are measurable, cumulative and irreversible. Every hostage-taking case should trigger automatic penalties: targeted sanctions on judges, prosecutors, interrogators, prison officials and intelligence officers involved; permanent confiscation — not escrow — of regime assets tied to hostage diplomacy; and coordinated diplomatic consequences with allies, including travel bans, removal of regime officials from international bodies and the pursuit of Interpol red notices where applicable. The message must be unambiguous: hostage-taking will leave the regime worse off, not better.’

Mohebbi urged that, ‘The U.S. should formally designate Iran as a state that engages in hostage-taking, ban the use of U.S. passports for travel to or through Iran and maintain a public registry of regime officials involved in these crimes. At the same time, Washington must provide stronger, more transparent support to families of hostages and ensure sustained public naming and shaming. Only by raising the cost across legal, diplomatic, financial and reputational fronts can the United States begin to dismantle Iran’s hostage-taking business,’ he said.

House and Senate lawmakers unveiled a new funding package on Sunday night totaling roughly $80 billion in federal spending, but questions still loom about averting another government shutdown at the end of this month.

The package combines two of Congress’ 12 annual appropriations bills in what’s called a ‘minibus.’ It covers funding for the State Department and related national security, as well as federal financial services and general government operations.

Notably excluded from the package, however, is funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which had been expected to be part of the legislation earlier this month.

It comes as Democrats threaten to hold up DHS funding in the wake of an incident in Minneapolis where an ICE agent shot a U.S. citizen in her car. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other GOP officials have accused the woman of being at fault and of hitting the agent with her vehicle, while Democrats are charging ICE with a reckless and unprovoked use of force.

While a DHS funding bill only needs a simple majority to pass the House, any spending legislation needs at least 60 votes in the Senate — meaning Democratic support is critical for passage.

The package released totals just over $76 billion in federal funds and is expected to get a House vote sometime this week.

The State Department and national security bill includes $850 million for an ‘America First Opportunity Fund,’ aimed at giving the Secretary of State funding to respond to potential unforeseen circumstances.

Both Republicans and Democrats touted different victories in the legislation, with a summary by House Appropriations Committee Republicans stating that the bill supports ‘President Trump’s America First foreign policy by eliminating wasteful spending on DEI or woke programming, climate change mandates, and divisive gender ideologies.’

Democrats said the bill ‘supports women globally’ by ‘protecting funding for bilateral family planning and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’ and pointed to $6.8 billion for a new account ‘that supports the activities previously funded under Development Assistance.’ 

The bill also provides millions in security assistance for Israel and Taiwan, among other global partners across the world.

The latter bill provides just over $13 billion for the U.S. Treasury for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, while also including a provision that stops the IRS ‘from targeting individuals or groups for exercising their First Amendment rights or ideological beliefs,’ according to Republicans.

It also provides $872 million for the Executive Office of the President and $9.69 billion in discretionary funding for the Federal Judiciary.

‘With this package, we are advancing President Trump’s vision of a golden age defined by security, responsibility, and growth. Our financial system will be protected, small businesses and entrepreneurs supported, and consumer freedom safeguarded,’ House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a statement.

‘We shield our nation across every front — strengthening cyber defenses and dismantling the financial and criminal networks that enable terrorism, drug trafficking, and bad actors. Guided by peace through strength, we realign our diplomacy and national posture to deter threats before they reach our shores.’

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the bill ‘continues Democrats’ rejection of extreme cuts proposed by the Trump White House and Republicans in Congress.’

A source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that negotiators are aiming to include the DHS funding bill in a separate minibus that also covers defense spending, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Transportation, among other agencies.

Current federal funding levels expire after Jan. 30. Any potential shutdown would only be a partial one at this point, given Congress is on its way to passing at least half of its dozen spending bills by then.

Senate Appropriations Committee member Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., did not rule out a shutdown over the DHS funding standoff in comments to NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday.

‘[Republicans] control the House, the Senate and the presidency. If they don’t want to work with Democrats and shut down the government, that’s up to them,’ Murphy said.

But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News on Friday that he does not believe there will be a shutdown but criticized Democrats’ threats to DHS funds.

‘I am concerned about that, and we should not be limiting funding for homeland security at a dangerous time. We need public officials to allow law enforcement to do their jobs,’ Johnson said. 

Asked whether leaders could prevent a shutdown, he said, ‘I think we will.’ 

A Senate Republican again plans to act as a roadblock to President Donald Trump, this time against any potential replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced that he would block any future nominee to serve as chair of the Fed following the revelation that Powell was under criminal investigation for testimony he gave regarding the renovation at the Federal Reserve.

‘If there were any remaining doubt whether advisors within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,’ Tillis said on X. ‘It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.’

‘I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,’ he continued.

Tillis’ decision comes with weight — as a member of the Senate Banking Committee, he would get an immediate say on who does and doesn’t pass muster to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

And that’s a reality that will likely soon play out, given that Powell’s term as chair expires in May, though he is still slated to stay on the central bank’s board of governors until 2028.

It’s also not the first time he’s stood directly in the path of Trump. Tillis last week announced that he would be blocking all future Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominees until DHS Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘Secretary Noem testified on Capitol Hill less than a month ago and remains committed to transparency and continued engagement with Congress.’

‘While the Department does not currently have any nominees pending before the Senate, we hope senators will refrain from holding President Trump’s appointments in a way that could compromise our national security,’ they said.

The lawmaker’s line in the sand came after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia launched an investigation into Powell over testimony he gave before the Senate Banking Committee last June regarding the renovation of the central bank’s Washington headquarters. The probe is focused on whether Powell lied to lawmakers about the scope of the project.

It comes after a year of tension between Powell and Trump, who has long sought to replace him atop the central bank. And notably, the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s building in the District is not on the taxpayer dime, but rather its own coffers.

‘This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,’ Powell said in a video statement.

‘The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,’ he continued. ‘This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, similarly panned the criminal investigation into Powell and charged that Trump sought to ‘install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank.’

‘Trump is abusing the authorities of the Department of Justice like a wannabe dictator, so the Fed serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends,’ Warren said in a statement. ‘This Committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair.’

The Fed tweaked interest rates in December, dropping them by 0.25%, marking the third straight time the central bank slashed rates. Still, the cut was not enough for Trump, who demanded a sharper drop.

In the aftermath, Trump said that he would seek a new Federal Reserve chair that would slash interest rates ‘by a lot.’

‘I’ll soon announce our next chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who believes in lower interest rates, by a lot, and mortgage payments will be coming down even further,’ Trump said.