ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Varney & Co. on Fox Business to Discuss Iran, Midterm Elections

Washington-On Thursday, United States Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Banking Committees, joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business to discuss the latest in Iran and the upcoming midterm elections.

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Partial Transcript

Hagerty on Iran: I think [Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Admiral Brad Cooper] has done an excellent job of conveying to [President Donald Trump] his options. And if you think about it, we stopped the execution of the target package that Admiral Cooper was executing when we stepped back to negotiate a ceasefire and deal with the Strait of Hormuz. At that point in time, Brad Cooper was probably 75 to 80% of the way through the initial target package. The timeline that he's talking about, two-and-a-half, three weeks, is consistent with what it would take to complete that package. That's a package that includes human targets. It's going to be devastating to the Iranian regime. I think it's time to step up and do it. I'm entirely in favor of it… [The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)] are the ones that are driving this. They live a different lifestyle than the rest of the military. They actually profit in times of war, and I think there's going to be a reckoning with the Iranian people over the terrible leadership that has been provided by the IRGC, the terrible decisions that they've made. And they continue to make the wrong decision over and over again. It's the definition of insanity.

Hagerty on Senate Democrats' legislative blockade ahead of midterms: [Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,] put us through the longest government shutdown in history, shutting down the Department of Homeland Security at a time when we were in major conflict with the major state sponsor of terror in the world. Knowing that the Iranian regime has put people into this country, he was willing to shut down Homeland Security. He just instructed his party to vote against the National Defense Authorization Bill. It seems that if you step back and listen to what Chuck Schumer says on the floor, that his irresponsibility actually bleeds into almost cheerleading for the Iranian regime. It's hard to believe-I can't believe in my heart of hearts he believes that. But if you listen to what he says, it's hard to argue.

Hagerty on the rise of the radical left: As soon as people start listening to the platform of the Democratic Socialist Party…Zohran Mamdani in New York City, [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.-14,], [Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT] . This Marxism, this socialism, this communism is not consistent with the American way. Certainly, that's clear in Tennessee, and I don't think they'll get any traction at all.

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