Latest news with #TimBurchett
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Majority of Trump supporters against US military involvement in Israel-Iran conflict, poll finds
A majority of supporters of Donald Trump are against US military involvement in Israel's conflict with Iran, a poll published Wednesday found, reflecting a growing Republican backlash to the president's threats to utilize American firepower. A wide ranging Economist/YouGov poll conducted over the weekend revealed that 53% of voters who backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election do not want the country to join in Israel's strikes. It reinforces a long-held public appetite for a peaceful resolution to the objective of forcing Iran to give up its ambitions of acquiring nuclear weapons. A Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos survey in April found eight in 10 Americans favored diplomatic steps or tightening economic sanctions to limit Iran's further nuclear enrichment. The poll published Wednesday, reported by the foreign policy think tank Responsible Statecraft, comes as an increasing number of Republican politicians and Trump allies express their opposition to the prospect of the president involving US forces without the approval of Congress. 'This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,' Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican representative, wrote on X on Monday, adding his voice to the pursuit of a bipartisan House war powers resolution to try to curb Trump's authority. On Wednesday, Tim Burchett, a Republican representative form Tennessee, told CNN he wants to see 'very little' US involvement in the escalating Middle East conflict, which has witnessed Israel and Iran trading missile barrages for several days. 'We don't need another endless war in the Middle East. Old men make decisions and young men die, and that's the history of war,' he said. 'We need to take a deep breath and slow down this thing and let the Israelis do their thing. We do not need a three-front war in our lifetime.' Their views mirror those of Trump's voters surveyed in the Economist poll, which revealed that only 19% of them favored the US getting involved militarily, and 63% wanted the administration to 'engage in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program'. Among all voters, 60% agreed that the US should step back from involving its military. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Previous polls have consistently shown that diplomacy and negotiations, leading to a new, binding nuclear agreement by which Iran halts nuclear weapons production, is the public's preferred solution. Even if diplomacy or economic sanctions failed, the Ipsos poll showed, Americans favored stepping up action short of military engagement. Six out of 10 respondents said they would support the US conducting cyberattacks against Iranian computer systems, while only 48% would support airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. In a Gallup poll published last year, 77% said they considered the development of nuclear weapons by Iran as a 'critical threat' to the security of the US, but as subsequent surveys showed, there is no matching appetite for the use of the US military to counter it.
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The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
GOP lawmaker torches Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz on Iran conflict: ‘I call them war pimps'
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) appeared to side with Tucker Carlson in the intra-MAGA conflict over the United States' support of Israel's war with Iran, labeling members of his own party 'war pimps' while saying he doesn't want to 'see American boys and girls going to a faraway land.' During a Wednesday morning appearance on CNN, the far-right congressman was asked to weigh in on the recent clash between Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), which featured the former Fox News star chastising the senator for not knowing basic facts about Iran while pushing for regime change and direct American action. 'You're a senator who's calling for the overthrow of the government, and you don't know anything about the country!' Carlson shouted at Cruz at one point in the interview. 'There is a bit of a divide in your own party on this,' CNN anchor John Berman said while airing a clip of the Carlson-Cruz exchange. 'It seems like you're saying you don't want U.S. military involvement here. You're agreeing on that. And we saw in this new video, Tucker Carlson – who is someone who in the past has been very supportive of the president – had an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas.' After playing footage from the heated discussion, Berman wondered where Burchett came down on this while noting that Carlson has called some Republicans and conservative media figures 'warmongers' while urging President Donald Trump not to militarily attack Iran. 'Yeah, well, I call them war pimps,' Burchett flatly responded before taking aim at Cruz and Sen, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has been pushing Trump to go 'all in' on Iran while saying it's 'time to close the chapter' on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 'You know, Lindsey Graham's a friend of mine. Ted Cruz is a friend of mine,' he continued. 'Look, I got a daughter who just turned 18 last week on the same day as the president did… and I don't want to see her go to war.' Noting that his parents fought in World War II, which he said was for a 'just cause,' Burchett then argued that he doesn't want to 'see American boys and girls going to a faraway land that many of us can't even find on a map.' Insisting that 'the Israelis can handle this thing,' the Tennessee lawmaker reiterated that he didn't want the United States to further entangle itself in the escalating conflict. 'We do not need a three-front war in our lifetime,' he added. 'I just don't think that that's the route to go. There'll be room for debate. But I think we ought to let the president do his negotiating skills. That's what I elected him to do.' Elsewhere in the CNN interview, Burchett also seemed to disagree with Graham and other Republicans who claim that American involvement is necessary because Iran's nuclear capabilities pose a direct threat to the United States. 'They can't get past Greece with their missiles. I think if they had, they would have already launched them. That's pretty evident in their last missile strike,' he stated. 'Again, I think we need to take a deep breath and slow down this thing and let the Israelis do their thing. And that's ultimately what's going to bring them to the negotiating table.' With the president weighing whether to join Israel's war against Iran, which has included him urging the residents of Tehran to immediately evacuate while demanding 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,' Carlson has led a growing right-wing insurgency that threatens to splinter the MAGA coalition. Carlson, who has warned Trump for months about bombing Iran as other right-wing pundits egged the president on, accused the president of being 'complicit' after Israel preemptively struck Iran. Arguing that a war could 'end Trump's presidency' and the 'American empire,' Carlson has also taken aim at his old haunting grounds, calling his former Fox News colleagues 'warmongers' while claiming the network is 'turning up the propaganda hose to full blast' to justify a regime-changing war with Iran. With Carlson attracting other prominent MAGA isolationists such as Steve Bannon and Marjorie Taylor Greene to his side, Trump finally decided to return fire at his longtime ally and informal adviser. 'Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, 'IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,' Trump blasted on Truth Social on Monday night. The president even took to mocking Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in 2023, for no longer having a primetime cable news show – revealing once again just how much weight the media-obsessed Trump places on television. 'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying,' Trump seethed at this week's G7. 'Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘The reality we live in:' Lawmakers consider what they'd sacrifice for safety
Congressional lawmakers are once again grappling with the reality of persistent and escalating political violence — and facing a dilemma about whether to pour more tax dollars into their own protection. On the Capitol grounds, they're surrounded by layers of security and a police force that was dramatically overhauled after the riots of Jan. 6, 2021. But back home in their districts, members of the House and Senate are feeling increasingly exposed following the shootings in Minnesota that killed a state representative and her husband; wounded a state senator and his wife; and revealed a list of other elected officials who might have been harmed had the suspect not first been apprehended. It all has predictably rattled both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, many of whom responded by making new demands for more money and resources for security. A bipartisan Senate duo of Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) made the case for additional lawmaker security funding at a Tuesday morning briefing with the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and U.S. Capitol Police, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Across the Capitol, House Democrats held a briefing Tuesday afternoon to hear from law enforcement officials and get walked through available resources, according to three people familiar with the discussion. And Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee sent a letter to the House Administration Committee calling for an expansion of what House members are allowed to spend on security expenses, including on 'around the clock' security personnel instead of only during 'official conduct and representational duties' — restrictions he called 'inadequate.' Recent events have also prompted fresh questions about what can be done and how much money is actually necessary to alleviate the risks that come with being a public figure. The answer is enormously complicated. Ultimately, lawmakers are divided over welcoming — and paying for — the kinds of additional safety precautions that would inevitably restrict their freedom of movement, limit their interactions with regular people and intrude on their family life. Unlike the senior most leaders who have 24/7 security details, rank-and-file members are typically left to their own devices unless they are deemed to be under active threat by Capitol Police. "I feel like the law enforcement — they're doing their best to protect us. I try to make good, common-sense decisions,' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said after his chamber's Tuesday morning security briefing. 'But you just can't get locked down. You just got to press on.' 'I don't want to have security on me. I'm a very private person. I like to go outside and be by myself,' added Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds Capitol Police. Consider two programs the House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms and the Capitol Police have spent years trying to promote to members: one for security updates at lawmakers' primary residences and another to coordinate local and Capitol Police resources for in-district events. So far, Capitol Police have mutual aid agreements with more than 100 state and local police departments around the country to do this type of work, according to former chief Thomas Manger, who departed last month. But that's still just a fraction of what would be needed for every member to have access to seamless security coverage in their home state or district, with local departments reimbursed by the agency. More than half of all House lawmakers last year took advantage of the home security program, but those who didn't enroll cited either a lack of interest or a feeling that the paperwork and approval process were too burdensome, according to two people familiar with the administration of the initiative, granted anonymity to speak candidly about it. That left hundreds of thousands of dollars in the House Sergeants-at-Arms budget unspent. The extent to which recent events might be changing lawmakers' thinking will be tested next week, when the House Legislative Branch appropriations subcommittee is scheduled to meet to consider its bill to fund the operations of Capitol Hill. In a spending cycle where Republicans in both chambers are looking for deep cuts, lawmakers will have to decide if their own security is worthy of further investment — and what that security might look like. Manger, in his final budget proposal to House and Senate appropriators, asked for an allocation of $967.8 million for fiscal 2026, a 22 percent boost over the current funding level which was set in fiscal 2024. The Capitol Police budget has already increased more than 70 percent since Jan. 6. And with some lawmakers calling this week for even more resources for member security, the budget for the relatively small force could top $1 billion for the first time this year or next. Top House Democrats, for instance, have asked Speaker Mike Johnson to boost funding for security through what's known as the Member Representation Allowance, which each House member receives to fund basic office expenses including payroll. Increasing the MRA would allow lawmakers to increase security capabilities without taking away money that pays staff salaries. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he supports additional resources for member security but stressed that it must be implemented in a way that is 'unobtrusive and non-interfering' with lawmakers' work. 'I have no intention of changing the way I live or do my job, because accessibility is part of who I am as a public official,' Blumenthal continued. 'But I understand how people are scared.' Capitol Police have poured significant financial resources over the last four years into overhauling their intelligence operations and expanding the assessment teams that handle the growing threats against lawmakers. Blumenthal said he wants those capabilities further ramped up, saying right now serious threats are too often 'discounted as a prank or a joke.' Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) made a similar case, arguing there would be value in having more tools to identify individuals who are 'going beyond the normal bickering that you find on social media, getting to the point where they appear to be more dangerous or making actual accusations or threats to individuals that they might at some point act on in the future.' Reps. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the chair and ranking member of the House Administration Committee, on Tuesday wrote to the Justice Department requesting that an assistant U.S. attorney or a special assistant U.S. attorney be assigned 'to each of the 94 federal districts to, at least on a part-time basis, investigate and prosecute threats against Members of Congress.' Some lawmakers also continue to push for increased security and Capitol Police protection at their homes in the aftermath of the attackon then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their San Francisco residence in Oct. 2022. Capitol Police have tried to build strong working relationships with local departments to counter threats, swatting attempts and problems at town halls or other events — hoping that local law enforcement can help fill the gaps in protection faced by members of Congress when they're back home. The force opened several satellite offices in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots, too, in part to respond to increased threats to lawmakers outside of Washington. The department reported more than 9,400 threats against members in 2024, and a good number of those were deemed credible enough to require temporary protective details for rank-and-file lawmakers who otherwise would not be entitled to them. In a statement, a Capitol Police spokesperson said the force would keep doing its work: 'We continue to closely coordinate with the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms to enhance security for Members of Congress. Their partnerships, along with assistance from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the country, are extremely important to keep everyone safe. "For safety and security reasons, we will not discuss those details," the spokesperson said, "but we will continue to focus on continuing intelligence sharing with our partners and providing proactive enhancements.' But Manger lamented in an interview days before his retirement that, 'We're always robbing Peter to pay Paul to put that together,' referring to the need to urgently assemble Capitol Police details for members under threat. Mullin conceded that no matter what choices lawmakers make, worries of political violence will continue to be a way of life. 'I operate right now with a tremendous amount of death threats on us. I mean, if you go to my house, I have bulletproof glass on the bottom part of my house. … We have cameras everywhere. We have security dogs,' said Mullin. 'It is, unfortunately, the reality we live in.' Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
‘We're not safe': US lawmakers demand more be done after political violence in Minnesota
Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota has decided to sleep with a loaded pistol near his nightstand after the deadly shootings targeting Minnesota state lawmakers and their families over the weekend. Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan didn't know he was potentially putting himself at risk by attending a 'No Kings' protest in his Wisconsin district Saturday because he didn't find out until the next day that his name had been included among the Minnesota suspect's alleged writings. And Rep. Tim Burchett, who has repeatedly raised lawmaker safety concerns with House GOP leadership, is now leading an effort to get members of Congress around-the-clock security services when they're in their home states. 'I don't want to go to one of my colleagues' funerals because I didn't speak up,' the Tennessee Republican told CNN. The fatal shootings in Minnesota have reignited the long-standing question of how to ensure the safety of 535 US lawmakers and their families with limited resources in an increasingly toxic political environment where threats of violence against politicians are at an all-time high. In 2024 alone, US Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 threats against lawmakers, marking an 83% increase from the year prior and part of a trend of growing threats against public officials. After the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the Capitol Police established new departments to take on the increased threats including a stand-alone intelligence bureau and with it, an expansion of intelligence-gathering systems. During a budget hearing earlier this year, then-USCP Chief Thomas Manger made a substantial request – close to $1 billion – to maintain and expand the department's current operations, with a focus on monitoring and handling threats. 'We are not an ordinary law enforcement agency,' said Manger, seeking to justify the department's request by citing the rise in threats, need for new technologies as well as 288 additional officers, and comparing the USCP work to that of federal agencies like the Secret Service and FBI. In the wake of the Minnesota incident, efforts are underway to examine how to increase the security funding available to lawmakers, a source familiar with the process told CNN. The US Capitol Police is enhancing security for members of Congress 'impacted' by the Minnesota shootings and offered 24-hour protection for those lawmakers whose names appeared among the alleged shooter's writings that investigators say they found, CNN previously reported. 'We have been working around the clock with our Congressional, federal, state and local partners to ensure that the Members of Congress impacted by this terrible event have a strong security plan,' Capitol Police said in a statement Monday. 'We continue to closely coordinate with the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms to enhance security for Members of Congress.' USCP also noted 'proactive enhancements,' but did not elaborate on what those would be. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee are pressing Speaker Mike Johnson to do more, writing in a letter obtained by CNN that the responsibility to protect all lawmakers 'starts with you.' Beyond funding levels, many members have felt in recent days there is a larger issue at play. They believe there is a lack of coordination between Capitol Police and local authorities regarding security threats when lawmakers are in their districts. 'Why is it so hard to get information in this moment?' a source familiar with the conversations about lawmaker security said of the flow of information after the Minnesota incident. House Republicans received a briefing by law enforcement officials on Saturday, shortly after the attack that left one Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband dead, and another state legislator and his wife wounded. On the call, multiple GOP lawmakers told CNN they raised concerns about the threats they face and pressed officials on the call on how to keep their families safe. Many left unsatisfied. Burchett characterized the response from leadership and law enforcement personnel as 'the same old thing.' One glaring issue, a federal law enforcement source told CNN, is that the Capitol Police force is not the Secret Service and was never designed to protect hundreds of lawmakers and their families. The USSS, with a larger budget and a list of protectees in the dozens, not hundreds, has been plagued by its own coordination issues with local and state law enforcement, which were exposed in the wake of the assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump last summer. A bipartisan group of senators and House Democrats received briefings Tuesday. 'The threat to public officials and their families is very real,' Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told CNN as he left a briefing on Capitol Hill, calling it 'sobering.' Saying that lawmakers were 'discussing' additional measures, the veteran Democrat said 'there's a lot being done that's not being reported and won't be reported, but there's more that has to be done.' 'I have more security than most – I have a security detail, one is with me right now – but most of my colleagues don't have that. Before they expanded coverage for me, I hope that others would be helped too,' said Durbin, the longtime second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. While the Minnesota attack has placed a renewed focus on how law enforcement addresses high-profile threats of violence against public officials, lawmakers have long called for an overhaul of security practices, with focus on resources dedicated to information sharing. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who met with Johnson months ago after he said a man was arrested in connection with 'a potential plot on [his] life,' told CNN that USCP hadn't informed him of the threat – he only learned about it from local authorities. 'We're not safe and our families are not safe. Capitol Police does a great job. They're great people. But they're not set up for this. They don't have the resources,' Moskowitz told CNN. The Florida Democrat said he is prepared to upend procedure and try to force Congress into a secret session to address lawmaker security if leadership doesn't act swiftly in the wake of the Minnesota attacks. Currently, lawmakers can take a number of steps to beef up their security protocols, including seeking reimbursements for bulletproof vest purchases, for hiring security personnel in certain instances or getting their own security training, and for making a range of security enhancements to their district offices. Rank-and-file members – unlike congressional leadership – do not receive a dedicated security detail. And when a lawmaker is granted – based on threat level – temporary security, the detail is not assigned to also protect the lawmaker's family, prompting many to use personal or campaign funds for additional security. The perceived breakdowns in communication when lawmakers are back in their districts are leading some to take security protocols into their own hands. 'If the United States House of Representatives cannot protect my family, I will. Period,' GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, told CNN. A spate of recent attacks has seen House Majority Leader Steve Scalise seriously wounded by a gunman targeting a congressional baseball team practice in 2017, lawmakers across the Capitol at risk during the January 6, 2021, riot at US Capitol and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband attacked in their California home in 2022. And as recently as July, mere months before the 2024 presidential election, Trump was targeted in two apparent assassination attempts. Even though many lawmakers told CNN the worsening political climate will not deter them from doing their job, some are beginning to question whether the risks are worth it. 'There's more at risk for you personally than ever before,' one GOP lawmaker granted the anonymity to speak freely about private conversations with their colleagues told CNN. 'I think people wonder, 'What the heck am I doing?'' Since the shootings this weekend, Capitol Police have been working to establish a new security plan for members. The department is looking into providing security for all members when they step outside Capitol grounds – something that has been largely reserved to lawmakers in top positions. The plan, which is in its beginning stages, could include signing agreements with state and local law enforcement in the areas where all 535 members and their family live to have those local officers provide security, one source familiar with the planning told CNN. Another option is setting the Capitol Police up like the Secret Service or FBI, where the department would have field offices around the country responsible for security when lawmakers are home or visiting the office's jurisdiction. 'We're trying to figure out what we can do in the short term,' the source familiar with the planning told CNN, adding that providing around-the-clock security isn't something the Capitol Police, in its current form, could handle. 'I don't think we have money for that.' Such protection 'would completely change us from a security mission to a protective mission … that's not something you can do overnight,' the source said. One official at the Secret Service noted that the federal agency – whose focus is security for a handful of protectees – is working to hire more agents. The challenge for Capitol Police to provide the same or similar level of protection as the Secret Service for hundreds of members, the USSS source said, would require a complete overhaul of the police department and a significant budget increase. 'It's just not possible,' the source said of the department in its current form and budgetary restraints – a budget controlled by the same lawmakers who are voicing these security concerns.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Burchett says he's ‘probably' a no on Trump bill if it means ‘more deficit spending'
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said in a Monday interview that he would 'probably' vote against President Trump's tax agenda if it means more deficit spending. In an interview on NewsNation's 'The Hill,' Chris Stirewalt asked the congressman — who voted reluctantly for the bill when it passed the House last month — whether he thinks he will be able to 'get to a yes on what comes back from the Senate,' noting indications so far suggest, 'this legislation is not moving in your direction.' 'If it's more deficit spending, then probably not. I think we need to really take that serious,' Burchett told Stirewalt. The Senate Finance Committee on Monday released its long-awaited version of the 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes provisions to make the 2017 corporate tax cuts permanent, cut hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending and phase out renewable-energy tax cuts enacted under President Biden. The Senate version includes several changes to the House-passed version, including a provision to raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion instead of the $4 trillion increase adopted by House Republicans. Burchett, in the interview, suggested that the legislation 'would slow the rate of growth,' adding, 'but it's still growing.' 'I would hope we can slow it to zero and go the opposite direction at some point. America's got to take this serious, or we're going to become a third world country,' he added. The House-passed bill would cut spending by $1.6 trillion over ten years but, according to the Congressional Budget Office, add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit.
