Por Arit John, CNN

Los demócratas lidian con cómo responder mejor a la intervención militar del Gobierno de Trump en Venezuela, mientras la operación para capturar a Nicolás Maduro puso de relieve diferencias de política exterior dentro del partido y desvió la atención de su énfasis en el costo de vida.

La captura de Maduro ha obligado a los demócratas a considerar hasta qué punto criticar la forma en que el Gobierno de Trump depuso al presidente venezolano, incluso si muchos celebran su salida del poder.

Varios demócratas en el Congreso han criticado duramente al presidente Donald Trump por llevar a cabo la operación sin notificar a los legisladores, al tiempo que cuestionan a Maduro, quien desde hace tiempo ha sido condenado de manera bipartidista.

“La Constitución no es una cuestión de conveniencia. Es una obligación”, dijo el lunes el líder de la minoría demócrata en la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries. “No existe una excepción Trump a la Constitución de Estados Unidos”.

Se espera que el Senado vote esta semana una resolución para limitar los poderes de guerra de Trump respecto a Venezuela, en medio de los ataques mortales de su Gobierno contra embarcaciones presuntamente vinculadas al narcotráfico.

Varios demócratas han buscado vincular la operación en Venezuela con los costos de la atención médica y otras preocupaciones por el costo de vida, al argumentar que Trump está más concentrado en la política exterior que en la agenda interna, pese a haber hecho campaña en contra de las guerras en el extranjero.

“¿Queremos iniciar más guerras de cambio de régimen centradas en el petróleo, o queremos atención médica para el pueblo estadounidense?”, dijo el representante demócrata por Nueva York, Patrick Ryan, veterano de combate del Ejército, a Dana Bash, de CNN, el lunes. “Esa es la decisión que se tomó sin consulta al pueblo ni al Congreso el 3 de enero, con la que muchos de nosotros despertamos esa mañana”.

Posibles aspirantes presidenciales para 2028 han puesto el foco en la expiración, el 1 de enero, de los créditos fiscales ampliados para las primas de los planes de la Ley del Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio, lo que ha llevado a millones de estadounidenses a enfrentar mayores costos de atención médica. Al mismo tiempo, han subrayado su oposición a Maduro.

El gobernador de Pensilvania, Josh Shapiro, dijo en una entrevista con una emisora local que Maduro es un “tipo malo” que robó elecciones, oprimió a su pueblo y se alió con adversarios de Estados Unidos. Pero también expresó preocupación por la magnitud del trabajo pendiente en el frente interno.

“Estamos viendo a miles de personas perder su cobertura de salud aquí en Pensilvania”, dijo Shapiro. “La idea de que vayamos a enredarnos en guerras en el extranjero en lugar de arreglar los problemas en casa es lo que más me molesta de esto”.

El gobernador de Illinois, J. B. Pritzker, escribió en X que los estadounidenses “merecen un presidente enfocado en hacer sus vidas más asequibles”.

La representante por Nueva York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a quien se ha mencionado como posible candidata presidencial en el futuro, escribió en X que el juicio de Maduro buscaba “distraer del caso Epstein y del aumento vertiginoso de los costos de la atención médica”, en referencia a la divulgación de archivos del Departamento de Justicia sobre el fallecido y desacreditado delincuente sexual Jeffrey Epstein.

Los demócratas, en particular los veteranos, han señalado las reiteradas referencias de Trump a las reservas petroleras de Venezuela para trazar paralelos con la invasión de Estados Unidos a Iraq y advertir sobre el riesgo de otra “guerra eterna”, costosa y mortal.

Las reacciones iniciales de los estadounidenses a la operación militar que capturó a Maduro estuvieron divididas, según una encuesta de The Washington Post realizada durante el fin de semana.

By Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — Whoever gunned down a young dentist and his wife is still on the loose a week after the grisly killings. But police hope newly released video of a “person of interest” and help from the public will help solve the crime shrouded in mystery.

Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, were found dead December 30 in their house in Columbus, Ohio. Their children, ages 4 and 1, were also inside and not physically harmed, police said.

Investigators did not find any obvious signs of forced entry or any firearm at the scene, CNN affiliate WSYX reported.

“Detectives believe the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Tepe occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30th in the upstairs of their residence,” Columbus police said in a written statement. “Recovered video footage shows a person of interest walking in the alley near the (family’s) residence during that timeframe.”

The footage shows a person wearing light-colored pants and a dark hoodie pulled over their head. The person keeps their head down as they trudge along a snow-lined alley in the dark.

The couple lived in Columbus’ fast-growing Weinland Park neighborhood, which had a troubled past but is now thriving, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Aside from the neighborhood surveillance footage released Monday evening, police have given scant details about the double-homicide investigation.

Columbus police have not answered CNN’s questions about whether detectives have zeroed in on a suspect or a possible motive; how the assailant got into the house; whether the couple was targeted; or whether there is any ongoing threat to the public.

“We want to thank the community for the tips we have received,” Columbus police said Monday evening. “We know there are questions and concerns surrounding this tragic incident. Detectives are working diligently to solve this case. We will continue to update you as the investigation progresses.”

Colleagues in Spencer Tepe’s dental practice called 911 after he uncharacteristically didn’t show up to work December 30. One of Tepe’s friends soon went to the couple’s house and found a gruesome scene next to a bed, according to emergency dispatch audio.

“There’s … there’s a body,” the friend told 911. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here. And he appears dead.”

Asked if Tepe had been ill, the friend responded, “No, no. I was just with him yesterday.”

The couple’s two children and dog are now in the care of relatives, the Tepes’ brother-in-law said.

CNN’s Caroll Alvarado and Yan Kaner contributed to this report.

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By Sarah Ferris, Kate Bolduan, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

(CNN) — Doug LaMalfa, a longtime Republican congressman from Northern California, has died, House GOP leadership announced Tuesday. He was 65.

As a fourth-generation rice farmer and business owner, LaMalfa was a respected voice in Washington on agriculture and rural communities, including as chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. He was influential in Congress’ response to the deadly wildfires that struck his home state — including his sprawling district, which includes Chico, California — in recent years.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a close friend of the congressman, confirmed LaMalfa’s death in a statement Tuesday.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” Emmer wrote in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

Rep. Richard Hudson, the House GOP campaign chief and another close friend of LaMalfa, remembered the congressman Tuesday as “a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California.”

“Doug was a principled conservative and a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California. He was never afraid to fight for rural communities, farmers, and working families. Doug brought grit, authenticity, and conviction to everything he did in public service,” Hudson wrote in a statement, noting that the two served on the Agriculture Committee together and enjoyed discussing all things cars, including their shared love of NASCAR. “I will deeply miss my ‘amigo.’”

LaMalfa’s absence will reverberate immediately in the narrowly divided House. Speaker Mike Johnson is overseeing one of the thinnest House majorities in history and can now only afford to lose two Republicans in any party-line vote on the floor. The current House makeup stands at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

California will need to hold a special election to replace LaMalfa in the coming weeks. The seat is likely to remain in GOP hands: LaMalfa represented a district that President Donald Trump won by roughly 25 points in the last election. While California Democrats have redrawn the district for the 2026 midterms, the special election is expected to be held under the current lines — which means a safe Republican seat.

President Donald Trump opened his remarks at a House GOP member retreat Tuesday by paying tribute to the late congressman.

“I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member, great, great, great member, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away yesterday, as you probably have heard,” the president said, speaking from the stage of the Kennedy Center, which the board recently renamed to include Trump.

The president praised LaMalfa’s leadership and policy focus, highlighting his role in Western issues.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus, a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water,” Trump said. “A true defender of American children. He was a defender of everybody.”

Trump also offered condolences to LaMalfa’s family and reflected on their political alignment, saying the congressman “voted with me 100% of the time.”

While the president said he considered postponing his Tuesday morning remarks to the full conference,

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By Alex Stambaugh, Tami Luhby, Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is slashing $10 billion in funds for social services and child care in five Democratic-led states, a Health and Human Services official confirmed to CNN, with the agency suggesting without evidence that the funding has been used fraudulently.

The freeze, first reported by the New York Post, will impact California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, according to news reports confirmed by HHS.

HHS will cut more than $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households, along with more than $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund. The department will also hold around $870 million from the Social Services Block Grant.

“For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told CNN. “Under the Trump Administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”

CNN has reached out to the Office of Management and Budget and all five states’ departments of health and gubernatorial offices for more information about the cuts.

The news comes just days after the Trump administration paused federal funding of child care programs in Minnesota amid a deepening federal probe into allegations of fraud involving social services. The allegations were made in a YouTube video by 23-year-old content creator Nick Shirley, who claimed, with little evidence, that Somali-run child care centers in Minnesota were fraudulently taking funding meant to provide child care for low-income families.

In the wake of the viral video, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI ramped up their presence in the state, federal funding for child care there was frozen and the Trump administration said it is deploying 2,000 federal agents as part of an immigration crackdown. Federal and state investigations into alleged wrongdoing are ongoing.

There has been no evidence to suggest the other four Democratic states have suffered widespread fraud.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, condemned the funding freeze and accused the administration of “political retribution.”

“To use the power of the government to harm the neediest Americans is immoral and indefensible” the senator said in statement posted on X. “This has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with political retribution that punishes poor children in need of assistance.”

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CNN’s Hanna Park contributed to this report.

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