WASHINGTON (AP) — A number of Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, including key figures on national security, are speaking out against the Trump administration’s deal to stop the conflict with Iran — with some offering outright condemnation of its terms.
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding that kicks off a 60-day countdown to negotiate a permanent agreement on Iran’s nuclear future. While some Trump allies point out the deal isn’t finalized, the removal of economic sanctions on Iranian oil sales and a proposed $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran’s economy have sparked backlash from Republican lawmakers and conservative voices — including some who have previously been among Trump’s staunchest supporters.
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and has previously urged Trump to maintain pressure on Iran, expressed his unease. “President Trump has pursued peace through strength. I hope the intermediaries working on this deal are not undermining that objective,” he said.
Wicker also took aim at the reconstruction fund, saying, “The $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison.” He was referring to the Democratic administration’s Iran agreement that Trump walked away from during his first term in office.
The pushback from within Trump’s own party — while not universal — comes as the president is working to wrap up an unpopular war with midterm elections fewer than five months away, a period when Republicans are already facing challenges in protecting their slim congressional majorities.
Several of Wicker’s Senate colleagues, many of whom backed the war when it started, echoed his concerns. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a strong supporter of the war effort, put it bluntly: “History demonstrates giving billions of dollars to the theocratic lunatics who want to kill you is an exceptionally bad idea. And so I hope we don’t do that.”
Trump fired back on Truth Social, labeling his critics “fools” and calling the notion that the United States would pay $300 billion to Iran “fake news.” The interim agreement does include a $300 billion postwar reconstruction fund, though the source of that money remains unclear. Trump echoed Wicker’s point that American taxpayers would not be footing the bill. “All there is for the U.S. is Success, Lower Oil Prices, and Victory,” Trump posted.
As the memorandum was formally transmitted to Congress on Thursday, multiple Republican senators said it raised more questions than it answered, particularly around its financial terms. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his South Dakota colleague Sen. Mike Rounds said they were looking for answers on how financial incentives to Iran would be enforced and how conditions against funding terrorism would be upheld, because “right now, a lot of money’s going to go to Iran,” Rounds noted.
Not all Republicans were critical. Some who align more closely with Trump’s America First approach were willing to give the president room to work. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas highlighted what he called a crucial provision in the memorandum, writing on social media that it “lays out a key commitment that strengthens regional security and ensures that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Louisiana GOP Senate candidate John Fleming, who is courting Trump’s most loyal base ahead of a June 27 Republican primary runoff, argued that the deal carries an implicit warning. He said Trump has signaled the U.S. would strike Iran again if it fails to honor the agreement. “The criticism may be worthy if there isn’t follow-through,” Fleming said. “He’s using the speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick in offering them plenty of help, but at the same time he’s got that stick ready if they don’t live up to their agreements.”
Even some of Trump’s most devoted supporters in conservative media have sounded the alarm. Conservative radio host Mark Levin suggested the administration should slow things down and wait until after the midterms before finalizing anything with Iran. “We should consider slow-walking the enemy, building up our munitions, our oil reserves, get the price of gasoline down, get through the midterms, then knock them out,” he wrote on social media. He argued the current approach appeared to be “rushing to a deal, building up their oil industry” while agreeing to transfer billions of dollars to the Iranian government.
Right-wing social media influencer Laura Loomer, a long-time Trump supporter who has also promoted conspiracy theories, was even more pointed in her criticism, posting on X: “Who is giving the President tainted, pro-Islamic intel?”
Despite their varying relationships with Trump, the critics share a fundamental distrust of the Iranian regime. Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose bond with Trump was severely damaged following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, weighed in as well. “It does smack of the kind of appeasement,” Pence said. “Bottom line. I don’t trust the Iranians.”
