Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., warned against using the U.S. military to force regime change in Venezuela, adding, "if you break it, you buy it."
Lankford delivered the caution Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, including stepped-up action against oil tankers linked to sanctioned crude and alleged narcotics trafficking.
Asked whether he supports regime change in Venezuela, Lankford said he does — noting that, in his view, the Venezuelan people already voted against Maduro and that the U.S. for years has declined to recognize him as the legitimate leader.
But when host Kasie Hunt pressed him on whether Washington should use "American arms and boots" to achieve that goal, Lankford drew a line.
"Arms is a different issue," he said. "If you break it, you buy it."
The senator pointed to Libya as a warning about what happens when the U.S. helps topple a regime without a viable plan for what follows.
After U.S.-backed efforts pushed out Libya's leadership, he argued, the country collapsed into a "fail[ed] state."
Lankford said the U.S. should want Venezuelans to "choose their own leaders" and "control their own destiny," while still taking action to stop the flow of cocaine and other drugs moving through the region and toward the United States.
Lankford also defended Trump's tougher enforcement posture, contrasting it with the Biden-era approach.
He said at least one vessel linked to Venezuela had already been sanctioned under then-President Joe Biden, but no action was taken, while Trump did act.
Lankford added the tankers have used "false flags" and "fake GPS," arguing the U.S. must disrupt sanctioned oil shipments that help fund Maduro and destabilize the Western Hemisphere.
During his Sunday appearance, Lankford also answered questions about Obamacare.
With the Senate in recess, Hunt pressed Lankford on why Obamacare premiums are expected to rise.
He blamed Democrats for what he called a structurally "unaffordable" system that has been propped up by subsidies meant to mask the underlying problem.
Lankford said Democrats added an extra COVID-era subsidy on top of existing Obamacare subsidies, but that "plus-up" is expiring at the end of the year — exposing what he called the "real issues within Obamacare."
In Oklahoma, he said, marketplace premiums rose 198% over six years, compared with 29% for "normal" commercial insurance.
"There are real structural problems in Obamacare that had just been hidden with one subsidy after another," Lankford said.
He acknowledged political risk, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, warned Republicans could face "consequences" if they fail to act.
But Lankford said Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked over the solution: Democrats, he claimed, want to extend subsidies with "no reforms" and send money to insurers, while Republicans want to shift support to individuals and expand choice — including ideas like association health plans and high-risk pools — while keeping protections for preexisting conditions.
Lankford also said Trump plans to convene insurance companies — similar to talks with pharmaceutical firms — to push for lower prices, backing the idea of bringing insurers, hospitals, doctors, and pharmacy benefit managers to the table.
From a conservative perspective, Lankford's message was consistent across both Venezuela and Obamacare in that America should defend its interests and confront bad actors, but Washington must avoid open-ended commitments abroad and stop pretending that massive subsidies at home are a long-term substitute for real reform.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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