Republicans will head into 2025 with the White House, control of both the U.S. House and Senate, and big expectations from voters to do something with it. Influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk says the party should make lawmakers that get in the way of the Trump agenda pay the price, but warned that the base will have to carefully pick its spots.
Kirk, 31, sat down with The Daily Wire at Turning Point USA’s America Fest in Phoenix, Arizona where he candidly broke down which Republicans are on his primary list. The Turning Point USA founder is a staunch Trump supporter who often speaks with the president-elect, and he is one of the top high profile conservative voices arguing that Republicans owe it to the American people to fall in line with Trump&#8217;s agenda.
&#8220;I find it very perplexing that Joe Biden gets all of his nominees and Republicans are happy to vote for many of them,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Some Republicans give a harder time to Donald Trump&#8217;s nominees than Joe Biden&#8217;s nominees. There are Republicans that voted for Merrick Garland. There are Republicans that voted for [Alejandro] Mayorkas. There&#8217;s Republicans that voted for Lloyd Austin. No questions. And yet when it comes to Donald Trump&#8217;s nominees, it&#8217;s like the most challenging thing.&#8221;
Kirk said he has an exact &#8220;criteria&#8221; for Republicans that should be challenged through a primary in a way that won&#8217;t be &#8220;reckless or irresponsible&#8221; for the party.
&#8220;We&#8217;re gonna find Republican senators that have the following criteria. Number one, they&#8217;re in deep, deep, deep red states. So if we were to replace them, there will not be a general election issue, right? So we don&#8217;t want to try to go after someone like Thom Tillis, who I&#8217;m not a huge fan of, who might be in a razor thin race in North Carolina which would lose us a senate seat.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@charliekirk11</a> says he has a criteria for which Republicans should face a serious primary challenge.
1) They represent a &#8220;deep, deep red state&#8221; 
2) A pattern of not listening to voters on core issues 
3) They don&#8217;t support Trump&#8217;s cabinet nominees <a href="https://t.co/IRXDBua9bM">pic.twitter.com/IRXDBua9bM</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1873774698066248154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Number two, we&#8217;re gonna find people that have a repeated pattern of not listening to the will of their voters on very core issues that matter to them, border, immigration, foreign aid, size and scope of government, and then of course, whether or not they voted for Trump&#8217;s impeachment and also Trump&#8217;s cabinet,&#8221; Kirk continued. &#8220;And the final thing is this: we want to try to create, not a lesson, but I guess that&#8217;s one way to say it, where senators get out of line, they will be removed.&#8221; 
One senator on his list is Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was first elected in 2014.
&#8220;He voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump,&#8221; said Kirk. &#8220;People don&#8217;t remember that. Bill Cassidy voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump. He&#8217;s trying to play like he&#8217;s some sort of, you know, friend of Donald Trump now. He&#8217;s got to go. He has routinely been the biggest supporter of sending money to Ukraine despite our border being wide open, which is not popular with the voters of Louisiana. So he&#8217;s on the top of the list.&#8221; 
Cassidy, who has met with a number of Trump nominees in recent weeks, including <a href="https://x.com/petehegseth/status/1866988332292747431?s=46">Pete Hegseth</a> and <a href="https://x.com/kash_patel/status/1869834089961754716?s=46">Kash Patel</a>, met with Trump in June 2024 and <a href="https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-releases-statement-following-meeting-with-president-trump/">issued a statement at the time</a> promising to work with Trump if he became the next president. In a a Saturday statement to The Daily Wire, a spokesman for the senator said, &#8220;Senator Cassidy continues to work for the state of Louisiana and for the United States. He looks forward to working with President Trump so that our country does great again over the next four years. This is what Louisiana voters care about.”
But not all the senators that have found themselves on the other side of the conservative base meet Krik&#8217;s criteria. Kirk and others are unhappy with Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa for her recent behavior towards Trump nominee Pete Hegseth, but she doesn&#8217;t fully meet their criteria for the primary list, particularly since she&#8217;s going to be in a competitive race.
&#8220;And here&#8217;s how it would work,&#8221; he noted, &#8220;if we were to remove Joni Ernst, the National Republican Senate groups would be like, &#8216;Oh, your fault.&#8217; They would rather make an example out of us try to make an example out of Joni Ernst. So we&#8217;re trying to be wiser than that.&#8221; 
<div id="attachment_850599" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charlie-kirk-has-thoughts-on-which-republicans-need-a-primary-challenge/conservatives-gather-in-phoenix-for-annual-americafest-5" rel="attachment wp-att-850599"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-850599" class="wp-image-850599 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2190485533-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2190485533-864x576.jpg 864w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2190485533-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2190485533-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>PHOENIX, ARIZONA &#8211; DECEMBER 22: Turning Point USA executive director Charlie Kirk is silhouetted against a large video of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during Turning Point USA&#8217;s AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.  (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)</div>
The Turning Point founder also mentioned Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, James Risch in Idaho, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who is part of leadership.
&#8220;There needs to be consequences when you don&#8217;t listen to the will of the voters,&#8221; Kirk said. &#8220;So we&#8217;ll see how they vote for the cabinet. That will definitely play into this.&#8221;
&#8220;Bill Cassidy, there&#8217;s nothing he can do at this point,&#8221; he added. &#8220;He voted to impeach Donald Trump, of which we believe you need to be retired.&#8221; 
Rounds and Capito did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesman for Risch told The Daily Wire: “Senator Risch will vote to confirm President Trump’s nominees, just as he did during President Trump’s previous term.”
Questioned on what role he believes Trump will play on all of this, Kirk said he doesn&#8217;t think Trump would actively campaign against incumbents, but that his silence could be just as impactful.
&#8220;I think his silence will be the most powerful thing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Not endorsing a candidate will end up being an endorsement if that were to happen, because look, he has to still work with the US Senate. He&#8217;s got to get ambassadors through, he&#8217;s got to do stuff. I don&#8217;t imagine him endorsing challengers. Bill Cassidy, he might, I don&#8217;t want to speak for him or for his team, but someone who actually voted to impeach him, I think that would probably reach to a level where he might do something, but probably not.&#8221; 
&#8220;It&#8217;s gonna be primary season sometime soon,&#8221; he added with a grin. 
As for what role Turning Point would play in primary season, Kirk appeared energized and ready to go. He says his organization will play a &#8220;heavy role,&#8221; including drafting the candidates, invigorating the grassroots, raising money for independent expenditures, and ballot chasing. 
&#8220;Republican primaries are different than general elections,&#8221; he explained,  &#8220;Our ask is not something extreme, the Washington insiders are trying to say Turning Point is just trying to cause problems. Well, not really, they&#8217;re the ones that cause the problems for not listening to their voters. If you vote like Ted Cruz or vote like Mike Lee, we think you&#8217;re a hero. You decided to vote a certain way that is against what your voters want.&#8221;
&#8220;We just want a Republican Party that is as conservative as its voters,&#8221; he argued. &#8220;Some people would say, and it sounds good, &#8216;Oh well, Charlie, we just won a huge election. Why are you picking these fights?&#8217; That&#8217;s exactly actually why — because the people gave us a mandate and the senators aren&#8217;t listening to that mandate.&#8221;
&#8220;So it&#8217;s time for some sorting out,&#8221; he concluded.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Charlie Kirk Has Thoughts On Which Republicans Need A Primary Challenge

bill Cassidy

Charlie Kirk

James Risch

Joni Ernst

Republicans

Shelley Moore Capito

U.S. Senate

A group of Republican senators are pressing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Energy</a> (DOE) to explain what they said was the abrupt reassignment of a top intelligence official who served in the role for 11 years.
Sen. James Risch (R-ID) led a <a href="https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/8/38999307-b0ca-4ec4-80ab-2acc2ddcdc34/DD4B19E088F0E67C203454734E3C71AD.risch-gop-letter-to-doe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> issued this week to Energy Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jennifer-granholm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Granholm</a> seeking answers to &#8220;urgent&#8221; questions raised by the personnel decision.
&#8220;On Tuesday, October 17, we received word that Steven Black, the long-serving Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (DOE-IN) at the Department of Energy, was suddenly and without explanation reassigned,&#8221; the letter said.
&#8220;We are told he will be taking on a new role as &#8216;Senior Advisor&#8217; in the Department. We are also aware that a study conducted by an outside contractor, which the Department has had in its possession since April, outlines disturbing findings as to the state of counterintelligence across the Department, to include the national laboratories,&#8221; the letter added.
While emphasizing the importance of the DOE&#8217;s &#8220;national security work,&#8221; citing research efforts at <a href="https://www.energy.gov/national-laboratories" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national laboratories</a>, the senators wrote that they became &#8220;deeply&#8221; concerned by the contractor study they said Congress had requested.
&#8220;If Director Black presided over DOE-IN over a period of time in which there were serious shortcomings with regard to counterintelligence, he should not be reassigned to any office within the Department that has a national security mission,&#8221; the senators wrote.
The senators asked that Granholm refrain from assigning Black to any department office until they receive answers on why Black was reassigned, whether the contractor study factored into that decision, which part of the DOE is Black expected to serve as senior adviser, when the DOE became aware of the contester study transmitted to DOE-IN on April 24, and whether Granholm agrees with its findings.
No deadline was included in the letter. The Daily Wire reached out to the DOE seeking comment.
The other senators who signed the letter included Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL), and seven others.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
<a href="https://www.energy.gov/intelligence/office-intelligence-and-counterintelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the DOE website,</a> the agency&#8217;s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence is a member of the U.S. intelligence community and is &#8220;responsible for all intelligence and counterintelligence activities throughout the DOE complex, including nearly thirty intelligence and counterintelligence offices nationwide.&#8221;
The page also says the office &#8220;protects vital national security information and technologies, representing intellectual property of incalculable value. Our distinctive contribution to national security is the ability to leverage the Energy Department’s unmatched scientific and technological expertise in support of policymakers as well as national security missions in defense, homeland security, cyber security, intelligence, and energy security.&#8221;

Jennifer Granholm

GOP Senators Demand Energy Dept Explain ‘Suddenly’ Reassigned Intel Director

GOP Senators Demand Energy Department Explain 'Suddenly' Reassigned Intel Director

Congress

Department of Energy

Marco Rubio

National Security

Politics

The Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was defined by inept planning and poor decision making, causing significant and numerous failures throughout the process, according to a Senate report released Thursday.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the committee’s minority <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Risch%20Afghanistan%20Report%202022.pdf">report</a> on its investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal last summer. Risch’s report holds top levels of the Biden administration in the White House, Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of State responsible for numerous failures during the operation that left as many as 9,000 Americans behind.
Biden announced the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in April and later self-imposed a timeline for operations to be completed by late August. According to the report, the administration &#8220;wasted&#8221; months before the National Security Council (NSC) began working in earnest on plans to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans, U.S. residents, and Afghan allies from the country.
Before launching a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO), “State did not officially reach out to regional partners until the middle of July, and DoD did not engage the Qatari government about using facilities there until the middle of August,” the report said. “Having wasted 115 days, the NSC did not conduct its first senior meeting to discuss the withdrawal until August 14 at 3:30pm, just hours before Kabul fell, when evacuations became life or death for Americans, Afghans, and U.S. military personnel.”
The report says that the Biden administration severely mislead the American public on the number of American citizens left behind in Afghanistan after military operations were completed. The report also says that American citizens are still trapped in the Taliban-controlled country more than five months after the military withdrawal concluded.
“On August 17, 2021, and at the height of evacuation efforts, senior State Department officials leading the evacuation task force indicated there were 10,000 to 15,000 Americans in Afghanistan, according to the F-77 report,” the report says. “By August 31, when the president ordered an end to evacuation operations, State and DoD had evacuated approximately 6,000 American citizens. Even taking the most conservative estimates from the F-77 report, this meant the United States left at least a few thousand people behind. “
“However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in September, asserted that only a ‘small number’ of American citizens, ‘approximately 100-150 remained in Afghanistan who still wished to depart. We are in very close contact with them and are assigning teams to each of the remaining Americans who wish to depart,’” the report states.
The report takes a critical view of the Biden administration’s decision to abandon Bagram Air Base and dozens of dangerous prisoners who were later set free by the Taliban. One of those prisoners later carried out a suicide bombing outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing 13 U.S. servicemembers and dozens of Afghan civilians. The report concludes:
<blockquote>People will debate for years to come about the “why” and “when” of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. This report has looked at the “how,” and it is clear the senior leadership of the Biden Administration failed to effectively plan, coordinate, and execute an orderly withdrawal and evacuation. From the beginning, the interagency and specific departments ignored the warning signs of a Taliban takeover and wasted away precious days of planning and evacuation. Only hours before the Taliban captured Kabul did the interagency decide to start the evacuation. This failure of leadership cost U.S. military personnel lives and has left tens of thousands behind to an uncertain fate under Taliban control. The Biden Administration squandered precious time, ignored intelligence and recommendations from people on the ground, and refused bipartisan support to give them the resources to succeed. In the process, the botched withdrawal has tarnished America’s reputation and credibility. A healthy sense of humility should guide the lessons learned and help to better prepare for future evacuations. Additionally, the work is not done in Afghanistan. American citizens, as well as tens of thousands of Afghan partners, including Special Immigrant Visa applicants, still await evacuation from Afghanistan and third countries. The military mission inside of Afghanistan may be over, but America’s work is not finished.</blockquote>

Joe Biden

Senate Report Reveals Biden Failures That Led To ‘Botched’ Afghanistan Withdrawal

Afghanistan

Biden Administration

On Tuesday, Republican Senator James Risch of Idaho asserted that somebody other than President Joe Biden is “calling the shots” at the White House. 
As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senator-biden-white-house-who-is-in-charge#">reported</a> by Fox News, “Risch made the comments during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.&#8221;
The senator also said the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan was a “dismal failure.”
Risch referred to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-white-house-cuts-bidens-feed-when-he-asks-a-question">situation</a> from the day prior when the White House appeared to cut off the feed of Biden, who was at an event in Idaho, once the president started asking a question to George Geissler of the National Association of State Foresters.
“One of the things that I’ve been working on with some others is —” Biden said before the feed was cut and replaced with a full-screen graphic that said, “Thank You For Joining.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BIDEN: “Can I ask you a question?”
*White House feed cuts out” <a href="https://t.co/YQ9I9u3r98">pic.twitter.com/YQ9I9u3r98</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1437490555454427143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/15/no-white-house-did-not-silence-biden-with-mute-button/">The Washington Post</a>, Biden&#8217;s official schedule for the day noted that the event was &#8220;pool spray at the top,&#8221; meaning that reporters were only going to attend the top of the event, then leave for the portion that was supposed to be closed to the press.
Risch seemed to address those circumstances, saying, &#8220;One of the things we need to get to the bottom to is who is responsible for this? Who made the decisions?&#8221;
&#8220;[Biden] can’t even speak without someone in the White House censoring it or signing off on it,&#8221; he said.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Risch said, &#8220;This is a puppeteer act, if you would, and we need to know who’s in charge and who is making the decisions.&#8221;
&#8220;There is not enough lipstick in the world to put on this pig to make it look any differently than what it actually is,&#8221; he said later on, in a reference to the catastrophic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. &#8220;The American people want to know who is responsible for this?” 
&#8220;Ultimately, the president makes the decisions,&#8221; Blinken responded. &#8220;As in every case, ultimately decisions that can only be decided by the president are decided by the president.” 
Risch pushed back, discussing the event Monday when Biden’s feed was turned off. 
“Somebody in the White House has authority to press the button and stop the president, cut off the president’s speaking ability and sound. Who is that person?&#8221; Risch asked.
&#8220;There is no such person,&#8221; Blinken answered, saying that the president &#8220;speaks very clearly and very deliberately for himself. No one else does.”
As Fox News previously <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-cuts-feed-biden-wildfires-briefing">pointed</a> out, this isn’t the first situation where the White House has cut Biden’s feed. The outlet noted, “Last month, the president’s <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-audio-feed-bidens-response-on-afghanistan">audio feed was cut</a> as he was about to respond to a reporter’s question on his administration’s military withdrawal deadline from Afghanistan.” 
The White House also <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-cuts-event-feed-biden-happy-take-questions">cut</a> the feed of a virtual event in March after Biden said, “I’m happy to take questions if that’s what I’m supposed to do …” 
This article has been revised for clarity and updated to include additional information.

GOP Senator Blasts Blinken: ‘We Need To Know Who’s In Charge,’ Calls Administration A ‘Puppeteer Act’

Antony Blinken

Sen. James Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News on Friday night that if Iran decides to further escalate tensions in the region in response to U.S. forces killing Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani that Iran will be &#8220;very, very, sorry.&#8221;
Risch told Fox News host Martha MacCallum: &#8220;The president acted on very specific information that he had that came from the intelligence agencies. That information was rock-solid, it’s good information. I can’t imagine us having this interview if the president had not acted on it and indeed Soleimani would’ve been able to complete the attacks he had in mind that he was attempting to pursue and Americans would’ve gotten killed and the Democrats would say that the president knew about it and didn’t do anything about it.&#8221;
&#8220;Look, there is a very clear strategy of going forward,&#8221; Risch later added. &#8220;This message is a clear message to Iran that this escalation that they are doing perhaps on the belief that America&#8217;s are weak, perhaps on the belief the president is weak simply because he took what I considered a very reasonable forbearance on some of the things that have happened previously. The Iranians have been mistaken. The miscalculated, as they are notorious for doing and one would hope they step back, take a breath and realize that if they escalate, they are going to be very, very sorry, if they do that.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Transcript of Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch&#8217;s interview on Fox News:
<blockquote>MacCallum: Do you know more about this attack that we mentioned at the very top of the show? The developments and news coming in, looks like there has been another attack on vehicles holding some of these Iranian officials.
Risch: I do. I’m really not comfortable until they actually declassify what they are going to declassify to comment on it. The news was released 24 minutes ago. The actual attack took place an hour and 45 minutes ago. But — look, the president acted on very specific information that he had that came from the intelligence agencies. That information was rock-solid, it’s good information. I can’t imagine us having this interview if the president had not acted on it and indeed Soleimani would’ve been able to complete the attacks he had in mind that he was attempting to pursue and Americans would’ve gotten killed and the Democrats would say that the president knew about it and didn’t do anything about it.
This president hates doing this sort of thing. He doesn’t like doing like doing Connecticut tax. But put in the position he’s been placed in with this, plus with information that we had, he did what he had to do and we hope that the Iranians will step back, take a breath, and understand they have been escalating this for a long time.
MacCallum: That’s clear. We pointed it out with the reminder at the top of the show the escalating attacks that have happened on oil interest of our allies and the American citizen and on the U.S. Embassy, it makes it pretty hard to understand how you could not have some sort of retaliation. Let me go back and ask one more question about these attacks with the additional attacks we are seeing tonight. What we’ve heard is that there were plans underway to attack U.S. interests and that’s what prompted the hit on Soleimani that killed him at the Baghdad airport. So, the question was who replaces him? Are the attacks still going to be carried out or even escalated in response to his death?
So, the attacks we just saw an hour and 40 minutes ago, were they aimed at some of these individuals who may have continued to carry out these attacks?
Risch: You know, Martha, again, I’ve been briefed on this but I do not want to be the one that releases this. I think the question, the declassification of how this came about should be with the president and with the national Security Council.
MacCallum: One last question — are American safer because of the second attack?
Senator: I don’t think there’s any question about that. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination when we watch what’s unfolded over the last 24 hours to understand how they are going to pursue this to continue to make Americans safer in the job they have to do overseas.
MacCallum: I want to hit on a little bit of what was in the introduction with regard to the reaction in some media circles to what happened. I thought it’s pretty striking to hear Jonathan Alter say it’s the right move but the wrong president. What’s your reaction to that?
Risch: Martha, you know, you operate in the same bubble I do back there. The hate and the vitriol amongst most of the Democrats and, for that matter, some — not all of the national media. There is no bounds to this. They are deranged when it comes to the president and can’t give them credit for anything. A good example of that is the economy. We are coming off the best year in 50 years and you never hear them acknowledge that President Trump has given this to the American people.
MacCallum: I know you said back in June the president considered an attack after the attack on the Saudi oil of facilities and that he agonized over that, so the suggestion I think here that it’s the right act, wrong president is that he won’t be able to do with necessary next or he doesn’t have a strategy for what happens next. A quick thought before let you go on that?
Risch: Sure. Look, there is a very clear strategy of going forward. This message is a clear message to Iran that this escalation that they are doing perhaps on the belief that America&#8217;s are weak, perhaps on the belief the president is weakfo simply because he took what I considered a very reasonable forbearance on some of the things that have happened previously. The Iranians have been mistaken. The miscalculated, as they are notorious for doing and one would hope they step back, take a breath and realize that if they escalate, they are going to be very, very sorry, if they do that.</blockquote>
&nbsp;

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence member Sen. James Risch

Top Senator: ‘Very Clear Strategy’ With Iran, They’ll Be ‘Very, Very Sorry’ If They Escalate