Shortly after the military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump claimed that opposition leader María Corina Machado did not have enough support inside the country to become its next leader.
"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump said hours after the operation. "She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country."
Despite Trump's comments, views of Machado among U.S. officials appear to be shifting.
On Jan. 20, Trump said he was considering involving Machado in some capacity in Venezuela, though he did not specify what role she could hold.
"We're talking to her and maybe we can get her involved in some way. I'd love to be able to do that; Maria, maybe we can do that," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to Reuters.
Machado, who visited the White House and met with Trump last week, continues to push for an end to the Caracas regime. According to a report by The New York Times, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are now "wholeheartedly" endorsing Machado, saying she has more than enough qualities to lead Venezuela.
Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, said Machado has "all the right stuff" to be Venezuela's next president, though he emphasized the next step must be holding "free and fair elections."
Similarly, Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, said Machado is "exactly the leader to lead Venezuela forward."
"There needs to be a transition toward a democracy and toward an election, and I think that should happen in short order," Lawler said, as reported by The New York Times.
According to the report, Machado made another visit to Washington and attended a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on Jan. 20, where she received a standing ovation from lawmakers. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida and chair of the committee, went on the record saying he could not see how there could be anyone else "with a greater vision" for Venezuela than Machado.
Mast also said the United States will play an important role in Venezuela's next election, citing the high stakes and the country's proximity to the U.S., according to the outlet.
Since Maduro's capture, Venezuela has been run by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Maduro's government and is now cooperating with the United States amid concerns she could face a similar fate.
Machado said Rodríguez's cooperation with the U.S. is driven more by pressure than by choice, adding that the interim president's main task is to dismantle what she described as a criminal power structure that has tormented Venezuela for more than two decades.
"She is not acting comfortably or voluntarily," Machado said.
"Few people know as much about the criminal structure of tyranny as someone who helped design it. If the United States is obtaining the information it needs, that is the kind of cooperation we expect," she added.
According to The New York Times, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the panel, said Machado was "very clear" that Rodríguez is not the person to move Venezuela forward. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat from California, said Machado was vocal in calling for continued U.S. involvement in Venezuela.
During the Jan. 20 meeting, lawmakers from both parties called for prompt, free and fair elections to replace Maduro, though Mast said such elections are still months away.
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