Israel war: Vulnerable Senate Democrats back GOP push to freeze $6 billion to Iran

Two Senate Democrats facing tough reelection fights next year joined with their GOP colleagues on Tuesday in calling for the Biden administration to freeze the $6 billion in funds set to be released to Iran after last weekend’s unprecedented terrorist attack in Israel.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT), the most vulnerable incumbents of the 2024 cycle, said in separate statements that the United States should no longer permit Tehran to access the funds in the wake of the surprise attack. The move aligns them with a large swath of the Senate Republican Conference, almost half of whom have called on the White House to reverse course.

ISRAEL WAR: HAMAS TERRORIST ATTACK PUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT FOR ALLY TO THE TEST

“I wasn’t supportive of the initial $6B transfer,” Manchin said. “We should absolutely freeze these Iranian assets while we also consider additional sanctions.”

Tester, who chairs the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, said, “As American intelligence officials continue to investigate the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas, we should review our options to hold Iran accountable for any support they may have provided.

AP

“At a minimum, we should immediately freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets and explore other financial tools we have at our disposal,” the Montana senator added. “Moving forward, we need to ensure our ally Israel can defend itself from these ongoing deadly attacks against its civilians.”

At least 1,000 Israeli civilians and 14 Americans are dead as a result of the carnage, while more than 2,500 have been injured. In addition, more than 800 Palestinians have died since the conflict erupted on Saturday. Those numbers do not account for the more than 100 Israelis and Americans being held hostage by Hamas, the Iran-backed terrorist group that operates in Gaza and carried out the assault.

In response, 20 GOP senators penned a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging him to freeze the assets, which were held in South Korea.

“The State Department should immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with U.S. ally Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds,” the letter, signed by Tester’s home-state colleague Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), read. “We must stand with Israel to restrict access to these Iranian funds.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

House Republicans have expressed similar concerns over the aid. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), who is toying with entering the GOP primary to challenge Tester next year, said on Tuesday that he hopes any Israel aid is not tied to other spending matters.

“It is my sincere hope that whatever additional support is necessary for Israel to protect itself is kept as a separate request,” Rosendale said in a statement. “This support must be considered by itself and not politicized by combining it with other requests.”