On Friday’s episode of “America Reports” on Fox News Channel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed House Democrats who opposed a resolution affirming the U.S. position that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism had “lost their minds.”
Co-host John Roberts said, “Yesterday in the House, there was a vote
that was taken to reaffirm the U.S.’s view that Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. When when a similar vote was taken three years ago, the vote was 420 to 1. Yesterday, 53 Democrats voted against that resolution, prompting Steve Scalise to say, ‘Well, we just had a vote in the House to simply affirm the fact that Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism.”
He added: “53 Democrats voted no by denying this basic fact, these radical Democrats are defending the murderous Iranian regime and standing against America.’ I want to invite you to weigh in on this. And as you do that, we’re going to put up on the screen here. Scroll of all of the terror attacks that have occurred since 1979 at the behest of the Iranians. Go ahead.
“Well, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Nearly three years ago, in 2023, every single member of the House of Representatives, with the exception of one, voted together on this resolution condemning Iran as the world’s state leading sponsor of terror. This is not just a long-standing bipartisan policy of the United States, but nearly every single country on the planet, especially Western countries, have agreed with this basic premise,” Leavitt began.
“And now in 2026, you have Democrats on Capitol Hill who have been so debilitated by their derangement and their hatred for the man in the Oval Office right now that they cannot even condemn the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” she added.
“Why? Because they are trying desperately to try to undermine President Trump’s essential action that he took to protect the United States of America, to protect our bases and our troops in the Middle East, and to ultimately ensure a more safe and prosperous world, not just in the Middle East, but across the entire globe as well. And that’s just 53 Democrats who have lost their minds,” she said.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., was approved by a vote of 372 to 53 on Thursday.
It said the Islamic Republic of Iran “remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism and provides substantial financial and military support to groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.”
It added that Iran “poses a direct and persistent threat to the United States and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American citizens,” citing the Pentagon as saying that “Iranian-backed proxy militias are responsible for the deaths of at least 603 U.S. service members in Iraq — roughly one in every six American combat fatalities.”
A seperate resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to wage
war in Iran failed in the U.S. Senate for the fourth time. Lawmakers rejected the measure in a 52-47 vote, largely along party lines.
The proposal sought to require congressional approval before continuing U.S. military action in the conflict. If passed, it would have curtailed the president’s ability to proceed without authorization from Congress, the BBC reported.
Democrats said they intend to continue introducing similar resolutions on a weekly basis. They said the effort is designed to put lawmakers on record regarding their positions on the war.
Most Republicans have voted to block the measures so far. However, some have indicated their positions could shift if the conflict extends beyond the current timeline.
President Trump has offered varying assessments of how long the conflict may last. In an interview aired Wednesday, he said the war was “close to over.”
Republican lawmakers have largely maintained support for the president’s actions. That support has continued as the administration enforces a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports.
One Democrat, John Fetterman, voted against the resolution. His vote aligned with Republicans in opposing the measure.
