Secretary of State Marco Rubio softened a claim about the U.S. being ready to use force to "ensure maximum cooperation" from the interim regime in Venezuela, saying that while he didn't rule out such a scenario, the administration "does not expect" it. In another passage of the hearing, Rubio said the Trump administration's end goal in the country is the restoration of democracy. Rubio rejected giving a specific timeline for such a scenario but claimed that there has been "substantial progress" in the weeks since Maduro was captured. Reuters noted that demands include expelling diplomats of said countries from Venezuela, but the regime has not taken steps to do so. The most recent developments stand in contrast with different reports noting that Rodriguez and other top regime officials agreed to cooperate with the Trump administration to remain in power.