With Schumer blocking bills to rein in Iran, let’s return to Trump’s pressure policy

Iran is America’s No. 1 enemy, or so Vice President Kamala Harris says. Yet Harris clearly has no answers for how to defeat this dangerous and growing threat.

That is one takeaway from Harris’ disastrous Fox News interview with Bret Baier last week.

When asked about the threat posed by Iran, Harris pivoted to partisan politics. “Let’s get back to Donald Trump,” she said.

I think that is exactly what we need to do. Let me tell you why.

President Trump was tough on Iran. His maximum pressure campaign brought the mullahs to their knees.

Iran’s oil sales plummeted from 2.9 million barrels per day in April 2018 to 385,000 per day by May 2019.

Its foreign currency reserves fell from $112 billion in 2018 to $14 billion in 2019.

Without these resources and reserves, Iran had less money to fund global terrorism.

By 2020, Iran itself was on the brink of financial collapse.

When Iran did act aggressively, Trump responded forcefully. He famously took out Qasem Soleimani after the Iranian terrorist mastermind engineered an attack on American troops.

Iran backed down.

If Iran is the No. 1 threat to America today, it is because of the policies of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.

Their administration relaxed oil sanctions on Iran. They allowed the Iranian dictatorship to bring in $200 billion in oil revenue since January 2021.

Biden-Harris let Iran get closer to a nuclear breakout than ever. Some experts predict Iran could have a bomb in mere weeks.

Remember, the Biden-Harris administration paid a $6 billion ransom to Iran for five hostages, just weeks before the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

Biden and Harris prepared to renegotiate the failed Iran nuclear deal, rescinded UN snapback sanctions, and reversed the Trump administration’s decision to sanction the Iranian-backed Houthis as a terrorist organization.

Biden and Harris staffed their administration with radical Iranian sympathizers like Robert Malley, who led efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal — and who was removed from his job in 2023 for mishandling classified documents. 

Today, Iran is richer, stronger and more aggressive because of the ongoing appeasement of the Biden-Harris administration. The world is less safe.

Iranian oil profits are being used to train, fund and equip anti-American and anti-Israel terrorist groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Twice this year, Iran has launched massive missile attacks directly against Israel — for the first time in history.

Here in America, Iran is actively interfering in our elections in favor of Harris and attempting to orchestrate Trump’s assassination. 

When a government tries to kill your leaders and create division in your country, it is critical that you take them seriously. Direct threats require decisive action.

Harris now wants to appear tough on Iran. The question is, why has she been so weak for four years?

Look at the latest headlines for an example: Israel’s elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack, in Rafah.

In March, Harris warned Israel not to go into Rafah, threatening “consequences” if it did.

This is the Biden-Harris philosophy: tough on our allies, weak on our enemies.

Trump’s deterrence protected American lives. The defeatism of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden put us at risk.

It’s no wonder Harris is tight-lipped about her dangerous record.

Senate Republicans know how to counter Iran’s malign actions.

Sen. Jim Risch’s (R-Idaho) End Iranian Terror Act would make the Biden administration enforce Iranian oil sanctions and stop brazen Chinese sanction evasions.

Sen. Bill Hagerty’s (R-Tenn.) Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act would require congressional review of any sanctions relief for Iran, keeping the president from circumventing Congress through informal agreements.

Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) PUNISH Act would codify Trump’s maximum pressure policies and prohibit the lifting of sanctions as long as Iran targets American officials for assassination.

Each of these bills deserves to be debated and become law.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer isn’t letting that happen.

Hagerty’s bill passed the House in April with bipartisan support. Risch’s bill passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April with bipartisan support.

But we don’t expect Schumer and Senate Democrats to allow them to come to the floor this year.

That means stopping Iranian terror will be a top priority for next year’s Republican Senate majority.

When Harris says she wants to “get back to Donald Trump,” she’s not alone.

Americans overwhelmingly want to get back to Donald Trump and his successful foreign policy of peace through strength. They remember that we were safer when he was president.

So yes, let’s get back to Donald Trump.

Let’s get back to Trump sanctions. Let’s get back to Trump strength. Let’s get back to Trump common sense.

After four years of the Kamala Harris and Joe Biden disaster, America desperately needs it.

John Barrasso is a US senator from Wyoming and chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.