The president’s nominee to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command declined to answer several questions during his confirmation hearing on Thursday about the military operations near Venezuela.

Marine Corps Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, who serves as Vice Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), appeared in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning for his confirmation hearing alongside Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, the president’s nominee to be the next Director of National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command.