House Republicans endorse Machado for Venezuela leadership as Trump shifts stance

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado following a closed-door meeting with her on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening, even as President Trump has previously dismissed her potential role in governing the country.

Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and former chairman of the committee, said Machado had "all the right stuff" to be Venezuela's next president. "Now, the next step, obviously: free and fair elections," McCaul said. "We look forward to working with her."

Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, stated that Machado "is exactly the leader to lead Venezuela forward" and called for a transition toward democracy and elections "in short order."

Representative Brian Mast, Republican of Florida and current chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also expressed strong support for Machado during the meeting.

Trump's position on Machado's role in Venezuela's future appeared to shift on Tuesday. During a press conference marking his first year in office, Trump said he would "love" to involve her in the transition process. "She is an incredibly kind woman who has done something really incredible. We are talking with her, maybe we can involve her in some way, I would love to," Trump said.

This statement represented a change from Trump's earlier dismissal of Machado as a potential leader. The shift came after Machado visited the White House the previous week, during which she presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, which she received in December.

Machado has been conducting an extended round of meetings in Washington. On Tuesday, she also visited the headquarters of the Organization of American States, where she met with Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin. During that meeting, Machado called for the liberation of political prisoners to be the highest priority in Venezuela's transition.

"The priority at this moment is the liberation of political prisoners," Machado said. "There is no transition with repression." She emphasized that political transition would only be viable with full freedom and rejected partial or conditional releases. Machado noted that many people who had been formally released from detention continued to face threats and surveillance, and she called for guarantees for those remaining in hiding or exile.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez appointed Calixto Ortega, a U.S.-trained banker, to replace Colombian businessman Alex Saab in a key economic position on Tuesday. Saab, who had served as a central figure in late-stage chavismo and faced money laundering accusations from U.S. authorities, was also removed from the Ministry of Industry. Saab's relationship with the Chavista government began in 2011 during Hugo Chávez's administration, when he signed an agreement to supply parts for prefabricated houses under the Misión Vivienda program.