House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., stated on Thursday that Democrats who criticize the Trump administration’s military action against Iran have displayed a selective memory by appearing to have forgotten “that Iran was any problem whatsoever” despite years of warnings and votes in Congress describing the regime as a major terrorist threat.
During an interview on “Bianca Across the Nation,” Mast accused Democrats in Congress of putting Americans at risk by blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security, arguing they fail to understand national security threats. “Any Democrat senator or representative who claims not to understand these threats—what in the world are they doing being part of the national security space of the United States?” he said.
Mast emphasized that lawmakers from both parties have received repeated intelligence briefings on Iran’s activities, noting, “They’ve had multiple classified briefings, some larger, some smaller, years of intelligence to absorb and think about this.” He pointed out that Democrats previously voted to designate Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and supported efforts to eliminate its nuclear program. “They’ve all voted—almost every single one of them—to say Iran is this huge state sponsor of terror. Eliminate their nuclear threat by any and all means necessary,” Mast said.
Mast added that the criticism emerging since President Donald Trump authorized military action against Iran shows a dramatic shift in tone, stating Democrats have “forgotten that Iran was any problem whatsoever for the United States of America or that they’ve been killing our people for decades.” He also criticized the congressional standoff over Department of Homeland Security funding, warning it harms frontline personnel. “It’s not a smart move. You’re putting Americans in danger by doing this,” he said.
Mast noted that agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection were funded through the end of the fiscal year under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but the dispute is affecting other security personnel, including Coast Guard members, Transportation Security Administration officers, and Federal Emergency Management Agency staff. “They’re hurting these groups—and they’re not even doing what they’re trying to say they’re accomplishing,” he stated.
