U.S. Lawmakers Express Support for Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, where lawmakers expressed support for her leadership and emphasized the need for free and fair elections in Venezuela.

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

Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, remarked, "She is exactly the leader to lead Venezuela forward. There needs to be a transition towards a democracy and towards an election, and I think that should happen in short order."

Representative Brian Mast, Republican of Florida and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented that he was "hard pressed to see that there's somebody else with a greater vision" for Venezuela than Machado.

The meeting lasted over an hour and concluded with a burst of applause from the gathered lawmakers. This visit follows Machado's recent bipartisan discussion with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Despite the support from U.S. lawmakers, President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about Machado's viability as Venezuela's leader, stating that she "doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country." Instead, Trump has focused on working with Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's interim leader.

Representative Gregory Meeks, Democrat of New York, noted that Machado was "very clear" that Rodríguez "is not the person that will be galvanizing for the Venezuelan people."

Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Democrat of California, mentioned that Machado would maintain her dialogue with Trump to "impart onto him why it is important that there is a regime change" and that elections should be held in the coming weeks.

However, Representative Mast indicated that "in reality, you're probably talking months" before Venezuelans could go to the polls to elect their next leader.