Brian Mast

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I hoped that my colleague who was just speaking would stay for more debate, but I would be curious. The gentlewoman intends to vote to tell the President that all U.S. Forces must be removed from hostilities. Do they feel as though that is a sound strategy to reach the conclusion that they want in the midst of a cease-fire? It sounds like they haven't calculated that. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I know the gentlewoman is still here. Does she really not know why we are there? She really doesn't know about the American servicemembers who were killed even before this who I mentioned? She doesn't know about the American bases that were struck? Really? You are a Member of Congress who does not know this? That is crazy. I will leave it at that. I will leave it at that for this moment, but we can get you classified briefings on this. We would be having one today were it not for this debate. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would let my colleague that was just speaking know that almost all Democrats and Republicans literally gave the President the direction, voted, to include the top Democrat that is walking up right now, to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That is literally what they voted for, gave the direction: use any and all means necessary. I have said it many times. I am saying it again. It is exactly what they voted for. The difference today is politics. The difference today is it is not Joe Biden, who can't find his way off a stage. It is President Trump. That is why there were zero war powers resolutions under Joe Biden and half a dozen or more at this point for President Trump--pure politics. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to respond to the minority leader. When my Democrat colleagues come down here and just lie, they are deserving of ad hominem attacks. When they come down here and try to say something about servicemembers killed but didn't take the time to learn a thing about them, learn their names, where they are from, but just want a number, you are deserving of an ad hominem attack. When the minority leader comes to the floor and tries to say--even though he has had various Gang of Eight meetings and things like that; more classified briefings than even I have had--and tries to pretend that he doesn't know the intelligence, what General Caine is doing, the methodical approach to what is going on here, the very slim number of Iranian ordnance that are making it past our defenses, the commitments of our allies, or the threats of them obtaining a nuclear weapon or what they would do with it, like the way Russia threatens the rest of world, he is deserving of an ad hominem attack, and so is everybody else. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the President for all the work he has done working to end an imminent threat against the United States of America. My Democrat colleagues used to agree that it was an imminent threat. They did. They wisely agreed that it was an imminent threat. They voted, as I have said many times, literally to say--my colleague over there, the one who was just speaking--``use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'' They voted on it. They voted on it numerous times to say the existential threat that Iran is against us. They just don't believe it when the name is President Trump. When it is Joe Biden, no War Powers Resolutions. When it is President Trump, do them every week, do them every day. No longer do they believe that they are an imminent threat. No longer do they believe use any and all means necessary. I think my Democratic colleagues really want America to lose. I think they want America to lose. That is why in the midst of this cease-fire that is going on, they are literally offering a resolution to say: Remove any and all U.S. forces from hostilities in or within Iran. I believe that is out of a desire to lose. It is really sad. They are over there laughing as we speak. As I levy an accusation that they want America to lose, they are over here chuckling and laughing. That is sad. I can see them mouth: He said that I am sad. I am sad. I am sad that my colleagues talk about the numbers of servicemembers killed, but they don't know a thing about them. That is sad. He is waving his hand. I am sad that my colleagues want the United States to lose, and they sit there and laugh about it. That is sad. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, they have no time remaining to close?

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I will just close it with this: It is sad. It is sad that they are over there laughing about this. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time to consider H. Con. Res. 40 in the House if called up by the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or its designee; that the concurrent resolution be considered as read; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on the concurrent resolution to adoption without intervening motion except for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by Representative Mast of Florida and Representative Meeks of New York, or their respective designees.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the resolution (H. Res. 1099) reaffirming Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is very simple. It is reaffirming that Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism. Why is Iran the largest state sponsor of terrorism? Why is that something that is said? Why must we reaffirm this? It is because they have spent the last 47 years targeting and attacking the United States of America every single chance that they have. In April of 2025, Houthi terrorists attacked the USS Harry Truman, causing a U.S. fighter jet to sink into the ocean. In June of 2025, Iran-backed militias attacked at least three U.S. bases in Syria and two bases in Iraq. In January of 2024, Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists killed three U.S. servicemembers and wounded more than 40 more in a drone attack against tower 22 at a military base in Jordan. Before that, Iran-backed militias wounded three U.S. servicemembers in an attack at Erbil Air Base in Iraq. Before that, Iran-backed Hamas terrorists killed 46 Americans and kidnapped at least 12 Americans in the October 7 massacre. Just prior to that, President Biden unfroze $6 billion of Iranian assets. That doesn't make them the largest state sponsor of terrorism, but I just thought it is an interesting point to put into the timeline. Before that, an Iranian drone attack killed an American contractor and wounded five U.S. servicemembers and another contractor in a drone strike on a coalition base in Syria. Before that, an IRGC captain orchestrated the killing of an American citizen in Baghdad. Before that, an Iranian rocket attack killed an American citizen in Iraqi Kurdistan. Before that, Iran-backed militias wounded two U.S. servicemembers in a series of rocket and drone attacks against U.S. Forces in Iraq and Syria. Before that, an Iran-backed militia fired a rocket at coalition forces in Erbil, Iraq, wounding a U.S. servicemember and four U.S. civilian contractors. Before that, Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists killed an American civilian contractor and wounded several U.S. servicemembers in a rocket attack at K-1 Air Base, Kirkuk, Iraq. Before that, Iran held 10 U.S. Navy sailors at gunpoint, on their knees, on the deck of an Iranian boat. Before that, Iran-backed Hamas terrorists killed an American citizen and his wife in a drive-by shooting. Before that, Iran-backed Hamas terrorists killed two American citizens serving in the IDF. The list goes on and on, Mr. Speaker, pages and pages of Iran killing Americans. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank my colleague across the aisle for the agreement that we have on this. To quote my colleague just now: There is no dispute that Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terror. He may not expect me to agree on this, but I would also agree with him on this point: There is absolutely nothing that this resolution is going to do to protect any American or any American servicemember, nor any previous piece of paper, strongly worded letter, or anything else that this body has done that has been successful in protecting America from the largest state sponsor of terror. It is only two actions: number one, President Trump putting Qasem Soleimani into about five separate pieces on the side of an Iraqi tarmac; and, number two, the actions that President Trump has taken in this operation to destroy every single piece of Iranian military hardware that can reach out and touch an American or has reached out and touched an American. Those are the only two things that will protect America from this imminent, ongoing, and undisputed threat. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Intelligence.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, it is Florida day. I yield an additional 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine).

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Zinke).

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I am going to respond to some of these comments as well. My colleague has said things that we agree on: Iran is a bad actor, and Iran is a state sponsor of terror. He said that there is no dispute about these things. My colleague has also said that he will vote for the upcoming War Powers Resolution. There is not a resolution that is coming before us that gives the President any authority or authorizes the military to defend the United States of America in any way, shape, or form against that threat that there is no dispute about, that bad actor, as it was characterized, that state sponsor of terror that everybody agrees on. There is no War Powers Resolution coming that says: Go out there, and under these parameters, defend the United States of America. President Trump is utilizing his Article II authority, his constitutional Article II authority, to defend the United States of America against that imminent threat that we agree upon. What my colleagues ask is that the President do nothing to defend the United States of America. My colleague talked about this resolution that outlines all of these historical actions and that we affirm Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror. It does nothing. He acknowledges he has voted on resolutions just like that many times. That is true. Nothing has happened until we have President Trump willing to utilize his Article II authority to defend the United States of America against an imminent threat. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this resolution affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror. Apparently, many of our colleagues have forgotten that they have voted on that, have forgotten that that is the case, have forgotten that that is the enemy that comes against us, and have forgotten that they pose that imminent threat against us every single day utilizing every single opportunity that they can to attack Americans. I will close with this, Mr. Speaker: I thank President Trump for the first time avenging every single American who has been killed by the hand of Iran. That was not the purpose of this operation, but it is the purpose of my personal thanks. Thank you, President Trump, for avenging every servicemember who was killed by the hand of Iran, every contractor, every civilian who has been harmed throughout the Middle East, and every person wrongfully detained. For every single person killed by that hand of Iran, I thank you, President Trump, for finally stepping up and defending the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of March 3, 2026, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 38) directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Trump administration exhausted every single diplomatic effort that they could with Iran, as did previous administrations. Iran would not see reason. Operation Epic Fury is a legal and necessary exercise of Article II authority to address the imminent threat posed by Iran. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about choices. Defending yourself is a choice. It is a choice that not everybody makes. Some people, instead of defending themselves, curl up into a corner and cry and turn their eyes. Some people stand up and step into the fight and make the tough choice of going through the battles that it takes to defend yourself. I will thank, again, President Trump for defending America from an imminent threat, an imminent threat that no other President has had the guts to stand up to. What is that imminent threat? What was that imminent threat that President Trump is doing his duty, his constitutional duty, his Article II authority to defend America against? I will tell you it is something that almost every single Member of Congress has literally agreed upon up until President Trump decided to defend America. Previously, almost every Member of Congress voted to call Iran the largest state sponsor of terror, and tomorrow we will cast a vote on what was just debated about reaffirming that they are the largest state sponsor of terror. Nearly all Members unanimously voted to condemn their continuous funding of terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. What does that mean? It means they give them money. They give them weapons. They give them training. They give them direction on where to find and how to kill Americans, and then they reward them for doing that. Almost every Member of Congress has voted unanimously to condemn that. It was almost a unanimous vote calling their nuclear program a massive threat to the United States of America. My colleague over there voted in the affirmative on that. Almost every one of us voted to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Those votes didn't just happen for no reason. We have seen Iran as an imminent threat against America, not just for the last 4 days, not just for the last 4 months, or 4 years, but for the last 40 years. Why do they continue to be an imminent threat? Because they have never faced an imminent response until President Trump. Instead, we told them--when I say ``we,'' I could say America, but really it was my Democrat colleagues that told them this. They told them how much uranium they could enrich instead of they can't do it, period. We told them when they could have a nuclear weapon instead of no. On top of that--again, I say ``we'' because it is America, but it was really my Democrat colleagues--gave them pallets of cash. That is a fact. I especially, as many of my other colleagues, wouldn't take this away from anybody here. No one wants to see our military go into ``combat,'' ``war,'' ``conduct combat operations,'' ``battle,'' or whatever word somebody wants to use to describe it. I do not want to see conflicts end in casualties. I wear many names on my wrist of friends that I have lost, but Iran's terror, which has caused the death of thousands of Americans, has to stop. They don't warn us when they are going to kill Americans. They are an imminent threat. They look for a surprise. They look for an opportunity, any weakness, any moment that they can go out there and attack us. They are an imminent threat. There has proven no other way to stop this imminent threat, not by negotiation, not by accord, and not by summit. Let us talk about this imminent threat. Three U.S. soldiers killed at Tower 22 a year and a half ago: Sergeant Sanders, Sergeant Moffett, and Sergeant Rivers. This is an imminent threat. Countless civilian vessels targeted by Iranian drones. That is what an imminent threat looks like. This one just pisses me off beyond belief. Ten U.S. Navy sailors captured and held on their knees at gunpoint by the Iranian Navy. This is an imminent threat. The October 7 attack, killing 1,200 civilians, including 46 Americans, was supported by Iran. Again, that is an imminent threat. This is very personal to me. Iran's killing of an estimated one in six American servicemembers in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. That is an imminent threat. Beyond that, U.S. fighter jets lost, sunk off one of our carriers in the Red Sea because of Houthi attacks. That is an imminent threat. If you ask an American whether they want war or combat--you can ask me that question. I would say no. I don't want it. I have been in it. Mr. Speaker, I don't want it for my children. We do want the President to stop Iran's imminent threats. If I asked if anyone wants combat, anybody with sense would say no. What do people want us to do if there are 10 American Navy men and women put on their knees at gunpoint by Iran? They want us to take care of that. Do they want us to go into combat? No, they do not. What do people want us to do if there are three American servicemembers killed at Tower 22 by that imminent threat? They want us to take care of that. This is what taking care of that looks like. President Trump has been clear, consistent, and transparent. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He made every effort to address this through diplomatic means. Let me quote directly from a resolution that Democrats, including my colleagues, overwhelmingly supported: ``The House of Representatives declares it is the policy of the United States . . . to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'' Leader Jeffries voted on it. Ranking Member Meeks voted on it. Speaker Emerita Pelosi voted on it. Did they not believe it when they voted on it? Did they not read it? Did they not understand ``use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon''? We all know Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States. The only difference now is that President Trump is sitting in office. Right now, our military is shooting down Iranian missiles and drones that are targeting Americans in the region. If Democrats had their way and this resolution passed, they would force the United States military to pack up, stop shooting down missiles, and tell every American sheltering in place and every ally fighting against this regime that America is no longer there to help. While this does not fit the narrative of my Democrat colleagues, President Trump had the authority to get the job done under Article II of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. He has been transparent with this Congress. Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and CIA Director Ratcliffe have all conducted now three specific briefs, making our objective clear: destroy every single piece of Iranian military hardware that can reach out and touch Americans or has been used to reach out and touch Americans. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I heard a lot there. I didn't hear any discussion of Article II authority. I heard a lot of reminiscing, but I didn't hear any reminiscing about Libya either. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the chairman emeritus of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.