{"id":29225,"date":"2020-02-28T18:15:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T18:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/28\/dems-tell-pompeo-trumps-iran-policy-is-failing-in-contentious-hearing\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:22:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:22:27","slug":"dems-tell-pompeo-trumps-iran-policy-is-failing-in-contentious-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/28\/dems-tell-pompeo-trumps-iran-policy-is-failing-in-contentious-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats press Pompeo over Trump\u2019s \u2018failure\u2019 of an Iran policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo received a blunt assessment from Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure campaign&#8221; against Iran: It\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congressional Democrats have been sharply critical of the administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/01\/08\/dems-gop-divided-after-iran-briefing-from-trump-administration-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\">shifting justification<\/a> for its Jan. 3 drone strike against Iranian Gen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/01\/03\/iraq-rockets-fired-at-baghdad-airport-7-people-killed\/\" target=\"_blank\">Qassem Soleimani<\/a>, arguing that Tehran immediately replaced Soleimani with his deputy and that the country is still enriching nuclear material. Their frustrations were on display as Pompeo appeared Friday for the committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWeeks later, we\u2019ve seen attacks that have injured more than 100 service members, the need to move thousands more personnel back to the region, a derailment in our relationship with Iraq, a setback in our fight against ISIS and Iraq pushing headlong toward a nuclear weapon,\u201d said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., using an acronym for the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou promised the American people that they would be safer and Iran would be deterred, so by your own metrics, this policy has been a failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iranian-backed militias have reportedly resumed<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/02\/16\/iran-backed-group-launches-attack-near-small-garrison-in-syria-housing-american-special-operators\/\" target=\"_blank\"> attacks<\/a> in the Middle East, specifically on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and Iraqi bases where U.S. troops are stationed. And Iran was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/02\/19\/ship-seizures-included-relatively-new-iranian-surface-to-air-missile-bound-for-houthi-rebels-in-yemen\/\" target=\"_blank\">caught<\/a> this month shipping anti-aircraft missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the U.S. and Iran appear to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/01\/08\/trump-says-iran-is-standing-down-after-missile-attacks-on-us-troops\/\" target=\"_blank\">pulled back<\/a> from the brink of war, Congress has a chance to influence the ongoing tension, as the House is expected to vote soon to require that President Donald Trump seek congressional authorization before taking further military action against Iran, a measure the Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/13\/senate-acts-to-restrain-trumps-military-powers-against-iran\/\" target=\"_blank\">passed<\/a> on Feb. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those tensions have been steadily escalating since 2018, when Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal with other world powers. The Trump administration reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran as part of its \u201cmaximum pressure campaign\u201d on the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran since has broke terms of the 2015 deal that limited its enrichment of uranium. During the hearing, Pompeo conceded Iran has more enriched uranium than when Trump took office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday\u2019s hearing, full of partisan outrage, heated exchanges and interruptions, echoed the 2014 and 2015 Benghazi hearings in which Pompeo, as a member of Congress, rose to prominence. Early on, Rep. Gregory Meeks blasted Pompeo for agreeing to sit for only two hours when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat for 11 hours before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe had to move heaven and Earth to get you here for just two hours,\u201d Meeks, D-N.Y., told Pompeo, who was scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference later in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/02\/additional-military-presence-in-region-leads-to-uneasy-quiet-in-mideast-says-top-us-central-command-leader\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/49158986137_f872af6aa8_k.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Additional military presence in Mideast delivers message of deterrence to Iran, says top US Central Command leader<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Nearly a month after Iran launched a rare direct military attack against United States forces in Iraq, an uneasy quiet has settled across the Mideast.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo and panel Republicans have argued the Dec. 27 killing of an American interpreter in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias and the Dec. 31 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by supporters of an Iranian-backed militia were part of a pattern that would have escalated without Soleimani\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe might be having a different hearing on why [Trump] didn\u2019t stop the deaths of more Americans,&#8221; said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, and the panel\u2019s ranking member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Pompeo at least twice declined to discuss in an unclassified setting Iran\u2019s actions in response to the strike, he claimed it had reduced the risk to U.S. personnel overseas and that U.S. sanctions have crippled Iran\u2019s ability to fund Hezbollah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re willing and able to impose cost on our adversaries if they threaten or attack us,\u201d Pompeo said. \u201cI know that, sadly, some American troops were injured during Iran\u2019s retaliatory ballistic missile attack on Al Asad air force base. The limited nature of Iran\u2019s counterattack, however, indicates that Iran\u2019s leadership is not eager to escalate a military confrontation. They know if they fight, they lose. That\u2019s deterrence, it\u2019s our policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans appear to have some mixed views of Trump\u2019s decision to take out Iran\u2019s Quds Force commander. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2020\/01\/28\/trumps-strike-soleimani-garners-approval-well-concerns-about-escalation-with-iran-post-abc-poll-finds\/\" target=_blank>Washington Post-ABC News poll <\/a>in January found that 53 percent of Americans support it, but that 48 percent felt that the decision raised the chances of terrorism against U.S. citizens and 46 percent believed there was a greater likelihood of a war with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/05\/iraqi-officials-say-baghdad-wants-to-minimize-reliance-on-us-military-in-fight-against-islamic-state\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20036517086834.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iraqi officials say Baghdad wants to minimize reliance on US military in fight against Islamic State<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in operations against the Islamic State group, two senior Iraqi military officials said, amid a crisis of mistrust between Washington and Baghdad after an American strike killed a top Iranian general and an Iraqi militia commander.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., a former CIA operative, was among Democrats who questioned Pompeo about the administration\u2019s shifting explanations to justify the strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Pompeo said Jan. 10 he had specific information about an imminent threat to include attacks on U.S. embassies, he gave a classified briefing to Congress that \u2015 according to Spanberger \u2015 didn\u2019t share that evidence. Nor did the administration repeat the claim in its legally mandated justification to Congress, received Jan. 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen the administration was constrained by the law to tell the truth,\u201d Spanberger said, \u201cyou abandon the talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo objected, saying there were \u201cmaterial misstatements\u201d in Spanberger\u2019s comments, but he was denied time to explain what they were. When asked later which embassies had been under threat, Pompeo said: \u201cI\u2019m never willing to disclose classified material.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In another tense exchange, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., pressed Pompeo to apologize on behalf of the president for \u201ctrivializing\u201d the traumatic brain injuries suffered by U.S. troops when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/01\/13\/iran-attack-highlights-us-missile-defense-vulnerability\/\" target=_blank>Iran attacked Al Asad Air Base in Iraq<\/a>. (Though the president initially said the injuries at Al Asad weren\u2019t serious, the numbers of troops injured in the attack has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/10\/more-than-100-us-troops-diagnosed-with-tbi-after-irans-attack-at-al-asad-report\/\" target=_blank>grown to more than 109<\/a>, as of the most recent count.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo said the president hadn\u2019t trivialized any injuries: &#8220;We take seriously every American service member\u2019s life. It\u2019s why we\u2019ve taken the very policies in Iran that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Multiple Republicans complained about the tone of the hearing. When Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., called the proceedings an \u201cembarrassment\u201d because Pompeo was being cut off and interrupted, Engel interjected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat\u2019s really an embarrassment is we can\u2019t get more than two hours from the secretary of state,\u201d Engel said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got an earful on the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign against Iran<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":60294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,12,25,68],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3380],"class_list":["post-29225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"U6T2MYRBNFGG7NYKX6YFWO3KAA","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2020\/02\/28\/dems-tell-pompeo-trumps-iran-policy-is-failing-in-contentious-hearing\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Democrats press Pompeo over Trump\u2019s \u2018failure\u2019 of an Iran policy - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got an earful on the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign against Iran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/02\/28\/dems-tell-pompeo-trumps-iran-policy-is-failing-in-contentious-hearing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democrats press Pompeo over Trump\u2019s \u2018failure\u2019 of an Iran policy\" \/>\n<meta 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