United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) appeared on Fox Business with Larry Kudlow to discuss President Trump’s actions regarding Iran, election integrity, and the need for increased homeland security funding.
During the interview, Hagerty addressed Democratic criticism of President Trump’s approach to Iran under the War Powers Act. He stated, “The Democrats, again, are going to fail on this one as well. They just continue to fail, and frankly, I think they’re just trying to tie us up so we can’t get anything accomplished for the American people. As you said, President Trump is in complete compliance. He’s not declared war on Iran. What he’s done is a very targeted move to remove their capability to produce ballistic missiles that are threatening us, the ability to launch those missiles, and certainly the ability to acquire more nuclear capability. [Operation] Midnight Hammer took out their existing capabilities, but they were moving back in that direction again, restarting their old program, and actually building new facilities. President Trump is bringing all of that to an end. Very targeted. Very focused. Very direct.”
On election integrity legislation such as the SAVE Act, Hagerty commented on efforts to prevent non-citizens from voting: “The issue is very fundamental: Should illegals be voting in American elections? The answer is clear. The answer is no. This is one of those issues that 80 percent of the American public is supportive of. The only people who don’t seem to support it are elected Democrats here who are not even listening to their own constituents. What would they like to do? They’d like to basically let anybody vote in elections. They want 16-year-olds to vote. They want felons to vote. And they certainly seem happy to allow illegals to vote because they don’t want any form of voter ID. [The SAVE Act] is a very clear and sufficient means to come through and make certain that American citizens aren’t disenfranchised. Because every time an illegal alien votes in an American election, they’re disenfranchising another American citizen’s vote. I’m optimistic that [a vote is] going to happen. It’s not scheduled yet, but I think the American public is ready for us to get this dealt with.”
Regarding homeland security funding and border security concerns during the Biden administration, Hagerty said: “During the Biden administration, over 1,500 Iranians were apprehended at our southern border. The Biden administration allowed over half of them into the country. We don’t even know where they are. So the risk of there being a sleeper cell certainly is greater than zero. Shouldn’t we be funding our homeland security to protect Americans at a time like this? You would think that Democrats could set politics aside, lock arms with us, and stand strong as Americans. They don’t seem willing to do that as yet.”
Hagerty also criticized what he described as a strategy of resistance by Democrats: “It seems that their only play is to resist. No matter what it may be, no matter how good it is for America. They’re just going to resist everything, maintain the status quo, no matter how bad it is, and they cannot allow President Donald Trump to have a win.”
Senator Hagerty represents Tennessee in the U.S Senate as a Republican according to his official website. His office operates district locations across Tennessee—including Chattanooga and Knoxville—as well as Washington D.C., providing services such as casework assistance and federal agency support as detailed online. For the 119th Congress he serves on several committees including Banking; Foreign Relations; Appropriations; and Rules and Administration according to official records.