House Republican on Fox News Says Her Voters Do Not Want ‘Boots on the Ground’ in Venezuela

Rep. Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (R-IA) praised President Donald Trump’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, but warned that voters are not interested in boots on the ground next during an appearance on Fox News Saturday.

At a press conference following strikes in Venezuelan capital Caracas and the capture of Maduro and his wife, Trump did not rule out American troops physically deploying to Venezuela.

“They always say, ‘boots on the ground.’ We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said.

The president said troops may be used to make sure Venezuela is run “properly.” Trump also told The New York Post that if Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, does what the U.S. wants then there will not be boots on the ground. Rodriguez is part of an administration the U.S. does not recognize as legitimate, with Maduro’s election victory long being challenged by governments.

Miller-Meeks, a 20-year veteran of the Army, commended Trump for the strikes, calling them “surgically precise” and agreed with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Congress did not need to give approval as the operation was merely law enforcement action to capture two indicted fugitives.

Maduro and his wife are facing narco-terrorism charges in a new superseding indictment. Maduro was previously indicted in 2020.

Miller-Meeks argued against taking things further with soldiers being deployed to Venezuela.

“It was executed brilliantly and I commend our troops, I commend President Trump,” she said. “None of us want nation building. Now I can tell you, Iowans do not want troops on the grounds in Venezuela. I do not think that that is going to occur, but they are safer today.”

The congresswoman went on to double down on her belief that Maduro’s capture and the U.S. running Venezuela for a time will not turn into “nation building.”

“We don’t want to have troops on the ground,” she said. “Iowans don’t that, Americans don’t that, we do not want nation building. This is not what’s going to occur. We’ve got enough problems to clear up from the Biden administration, so we have work that we’re going to do. We’re going to continue that work.”

Watch above via Fox News.