SCOOP: Bipartisan Trump foes in Congress oppose White House’s tough on Iran policy

THE LOWDOWN:

• A small coalition of lawmakers like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), and Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) plan to introduce a measure that would preemptively tie the president’s hands when it comes to dealing with the Ayatollah.

• Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib both voted to impeach Trump multiple times, and Trump recently said that Massie should be “voted out of office.” Massie’s team-up here is far from the first time that he’s working with progressive Democrats to sabotage Trump’s agenda — in 2019, he opposed Trump’s declaration of an emergency at the southern border, for example.

• A Hill aide told the Reporter that “Thomas Massie, Rand Paul, and Marjorie Taylor Greene have two things in common: they hate Israel, and they’re fringe nuts that are hated by their colleagues and have no influence on the White House.”

• The coalition of Democratic socialist and libertarian lawmakers stands in direct opposition to what Trump’s base wants, too. According to polling that Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) showed to Senate Republicans this week, Trump’s voters want to see American action against Iran.

President Donald Trump’s biggest opponents in Congress, some of whom voted to impeach him multiple times, and others who campaigned viciously against him in 2024, are lining up to oppose him on Iran.

A small coalition of lawmakers like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), and Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) plan to introduce a measure that would preemptively tie the president’s hands when it comes to dealing with the Ayatollah.

The measure is doomed to fail, Hill experts told the Washington Reporter.

“This is a group of leftists and kooks,” one said. “Senate Republicans overwhelmingly back Israel and Trump’s support for Israel’s strikes. This has a zero percent chance of passing the Senate or the House.”

Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib both voted to impeach Trump multiple times, and Trump recently said that Massie should be “voted out of office.” Massie’s team-up here is far from the first time that he’s working with progressive Democrats to sabotage Trump’s agenda — in 2019, he opposed Trump’s declaration of an emergency at the southern border, for example.

A Hill aide told the Reporter that “Thomas Massie, Rand Paul, and Marjorie Taylor Greene have two things in common: they hate Israel, and they’re fringe nuts that are hated by their colleagues and have no influence on the White House.”

This anti-Trump coalition is already leading many in Congress to reject their demands from the outset. “If AOC and Massie are a yes, that’s a good bet that I’ll be a no,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), whose reelection bid was recently endorsed by Trump, noted.

“Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea are not our friends or our allies — in fact they are working to undermine us and destabilize the free world. A nuclear Iran will seek to eradicate Israel and all but ensure World War III,” Lawler warned. “We cannot allow that to happen. We must stand with Israel.”

On the other hand, Trump’s congressional allies are behind him on ratcheting up the pressure against Iran following two months of diplomacy that most view as a stalling tactic by Tehran.

Thirty Republican lawmakers previously told the Reporter why they are fully behind the White House’s Tough-on-Iran strategy.

“Max pressure worked — that’s a fact,” Rep. Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), a member of House leadership, told the Reporter, for example. “The Biden administration destroyed it for no reason other than President Trump’s name was on it, and American national security has suffered because of that decision.”

“We stand ready to support the President in combatting a nuclear Iran, and we want him to know that Congress has his back,” Hern said.

The coalition of Democratic socialist and libertarian lawmakers stands in direct opposition to what Trump’s base wants, too. According to polling that Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) showed to Senate Republicans this week, Trump’s voters want to see American action against Iran.

Among the poll’s findings are that 73 percent of Trump 2024 voters believe that Iran cannot be trusted to honor any diplomatic agreement; additionally, 79 percent support America sending offensive weapons to aid Israeli operations — a move the White House has not yet done.

Landon Wall, who conducted the poll, told the Reporter that "while a few Twitter influencers suggest Trump's base is divided on Iran, our polling of actual Trump voters tells a different story.”

“Eighty-three percent support Israel's strikes and 72 percent back direct U.S. military action to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, which they clearly view as an existential threat,” Wall said. “Trump's 2024 coalition is showing they trust the president to make strategic military decisions that eliminate a nuclear threat while keeping American soldiers safe and avoiding a larger dragged-out war.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.) noted that he was unsurprised by the poll.

“The overwhelming majority of Trump voters aren’t sitting in Qatar-funded troll farms listening to Qatar and China-paid ‘influencers,’” Fine said.

Outside of Congress, voices that used to claim to back Trump have turned on the president, with one purported comedian even demanding his impeachment. David Smith, a little-known un-funny comedian, said that Trump’s support for Israel was too much — and that Trump should now be impeached a third time.