'Raising alarms': How 'influential' Republicans are waging war on Trump's own intel team

10 June

President Donald Trump on February 4, 2025 (Noamgalai/Shutterstock.com)

Although Donald Trump has, at times, taken an imperialistic turn during his second presidency by calling for the United States to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal and saying that Canada should become "the 51st state," the America First ideology that he usually champions is known for being isolationist. MAGA proponents of America First thinking — including Vice President JD Vance, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and "War Room" host Steve Bannon — typically make an anti-interventionist argument that is a big departure from the hawkishness favored by traditional Reagan and Bush conservatives.

In an article published on June 10, Politico reporters Rachael Bade and Felicia Schwartz detail the infighting among Republicans over Iran.

"An influential group of GOP hawks has launched a behind-the-scenes lobbying offensive pressing President Donald Trump to not only back off his administration’s quest for a nuclear deal with Iran, but greenlight an attack on Tehran by Israel," the journalists explain. "The campaign is raising alarms among Trump and his allies, who have launched a counteroffensive to keep the president's diplomacy on track."

According to Bade and Schwartz, far-right radio host Mark Levin is among the Republicans pushing for a hawkish policy on Iran. Levin, they report, is claiming that Iran is close to building a nuclear weapon, while members of Trump's intelligence team are disputing that claim.

"Levin urged Trump to allow the Israeli government to strike Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would torpedo the diplomacy," Bade and Schwartz explain. "Levin has been waging a public war against Trump's longtime friend and special envoy leading talks, Steve Witkoff."

Meanwhile, some of Rupert Murdoch's media outlets, according to the Politico reporters, have "savaged Witkoff" and promoted Levin's position.

A senior Trump Administration official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, "They’re trying to push the president to make a decision that’s not what he wants…. There’s clearly a lobby for war with Iran versus those who are more aligned with the president, that know he is the one that has been able to bring them to the negotiating table."

Read the full Politico article at this link.

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