U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer joined a group of 39 other Republican colleagues condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s weak policies that have emboldened Iran to advance its nuclear program to the brink of nuclear breakout. The Biden-Harris administration’s policies of appeasement have contributed to an urgent nuclear threat and further destabilization throughout the Middle East and beyond.
“Your administration allowed Iranian-backed militias to attack our troops more than 180 times while responding only about 11 times, diminishing any fear of American strength,” the members of Congress wrote. “You further empowered Iranian proxies by removing the Houthis from the list of designated terrorist organizations and restoring funding to the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas accomplices in UNRWA. These proxies then attacked and besieged Israel—and you proceeded to impose a weekslong, partial arms embargo on Israel, weakening the chief adversary of Iran capable of destroying its nuclear program.”
In addition to Ricketts and Fischer, the statement was also joined by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Katie Britt (R-AL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Barrasso (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Braun (R-IN), and John Thune (R-SD). The Republican congresspeople include Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), Chris Smith (R-NJ-04), John H. Rutherford (R-FL-05), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), Jim Banks (R-IN-03), Greg Murphy (R-NC-03), Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Brandon Williams (R-NY-22), Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-02), Scott Franklin (R-FL-15), Ashley Hinson (R-IA-01), Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23), Mark Alford (R-MO-04), Pat Fallon (R-TX-04), Lance Gooden (R-TX-05), Brad Finstad (R-MN-01), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), Ann Wagner (R-MO-02), Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), Ralph Norman (R-SC-05), and Michael Guest (R-MS-03).
Full text of the letter can be found below:
Dear President Biden,
We write regarding your failure to prevent Iran from rushing towards nuclear breakout. In July, Secretary Blinken confirmed that Iran is “probably one or two weeks away” from having enough nuclear material for a bomb. This geopolitical disaster and national-security crisis results directly from your administration’s policy of appeasement.
From the beginning, you’ve pursued a weak, naïve, and supine strategy of accommodating the world’s worst state sponsor of terror. Your administration ignored sanctions that allowed Iran to make over $100 billion in oil sales, rescinded the Trump administration’s snapback sanctions at the United Nations, and advocated against censuring the ayatollahs at the IAEA. You appointed Robert Malley as envoy to Iran and employed his cohort of Iran sympathizers, such as Ariane Tabatabai at the Defense Department.
Your administration allowed Iranian-backed militias to attack our troops more than 180 times while responding only about 11 times, diminishing any fear of American strength. You further empowered Iranian proxies by removing the Houthis from the list of designated terrorist organizations and restoring funding to the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas accomplices in UNRWA. These proxies then attacked and besieged Israel—and you proceeded to impose a weekslong, partial arms embargo on Israel, weakening the chief adversary of Iran capable of destroying its nuclear program.
Each act of appeasement strengthened and emboldened Iran, which has raced to the edge of nuclear breakout. When President Trump left office, it would have taken Iran more than three months to enrich enough uranium for a single nuclear weapon. Under your watch, Iran may have slashed its breakout time by more than 90 percent and increased its stockpile of enriched uranium enough to build a nuclear arsenal of more than a dozen weapons in that time.
Iran has waged a reign of terror against America and our allies for decades. But if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon, one can only imagine how emboldened the ayatollahs would feel to spread even more death and terror around the world, especially in the Middle East. If that happens, history will judge you and your administration very harshly—as it should.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
