The vice president publicly disagreed with criticism from the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senate blocks new resolution to end Iran war
Senate Republicans once again blocked a measure to halt U.S. hostilities in the war with Iran.
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans aren’t necessarily happy after finally getting a physical copy of the U.S.-Iran deal this week.
In fact, some people are skeptical about the memorandum, and in some cases make no secret of their outright dissatisfaction.
“President Reagan is rolling in his grave,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a known political opponent of President Donald Trump. He called the deal, as it is currently being developed, “the worst foreign policy failure in decades.”
That was before Vice President J.D. Vance abruptly canceled a visit to Switzerland to negotiate peace on Friday. And a day later, Iranian forces renewed their vow to close the Strait of Hormuz, citing ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and claiming the Islamic Republic was violating ceasefire terms.
In addition to Cassidy, other Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed alarm in recent days about elements of the deal that appear tenuous at first glance.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said the proposed $300 billion economic development fund for Iran would make similar rewards under former President Barack Obama’s 2015 deal “seem paltry by comparison.”
“I am concerned that this memo negotiates back the victory of Operation Epic Fury in a way that is completely out of step with the president’s goals,” he said in a statement.
Vance refuted Wicker’s claims in an interview on “Fox & Friends” Saturday morning.
“I think he’s wrong on this one,” Vance said. “In some ways, Mr. Roger is making the mistake of some Democrats who have criticized this, which is assuming that Iran can benefit without changing its behavior. That’s not in the text of the deal. That’s not in the conversations we’ve had.”
Mr. Wicker is not the only Republican on Capitol Hill to refrain from praising the White House. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on a podcast Wednesday that the U.S. should be cautious about using money authorized in the peace deal to build up Iran’s military.
“My message is, we defeated their military. Don’t suddenly come in with a lot of money to rebuild them and make them a threat to the United States,” Cruz said.
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) added to her lukewarm concerns by saying she wanted more details.
“I commend President Trump for taking decisive action to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities,” he said in a statement. “After so much progress has been made, I would urge the administration not to lose sight of its goals. The president has put us in a strong position, and we cannot afford to let that go to waste.”
Zachary Schermele is USA TODAY’s Congressional Correspondent. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
