U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
In a late May video with liberal journalist Molly Jong-Fast, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson — a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist — argued that President Donald Trump is so desperate to get the United States out of its war with Iran that he's willing accept a bad deal with the Iranian regime in Tehran. But according to i Paper reporter Simon Marks, doing so could alienate hawkish Republicans who supported Trump's military strikes against Iran.
"Hell hath no fury like a Republican scorned, and this weekend, even before the ink is dry on Donald Trump's partial peace deal with Iran, the anger and visceral was already piling up," Marks explains in the UK-based i Paper. "Many of Trump's backers fear the U.S. president is surrendering to Tehran's interests. Trump was already on the receiving end of Republican lawmakers' fury over last week's hastily proposed 'weaponization' fund that could see taxpayer money paid to convicted-then-pardoned rioters who ransacked the Capitol on 6 January 2021. His announcement that peace could soon be at hand with Iran sent many of them into overdrive."
Republicans who are voicing their concerns about a possible Iran deal include Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.
In a May 23 post on X, Cruz wrote, "I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran 'deal'…. If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant 'death to America' — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake…. President Trump believes in peace through strength, and his strong leadership has already made America much safer. He should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn."
Graham, on X, wrote that if the war leaves the Iranian regime even stronger, "we will have poured gasoline on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq."
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the first Trump Administration, is urging Trump to "open the damned Strait" of Hormuz, "deny Iran access to money," and "take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region."
But White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung attacked Pompeo in a snarky response, saying, "Mike Pompeo has no idea what the f–– he's talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals."