WASHINGTON, DC. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) led several of her GOP colleagues in a press conference calling on President Biden to formally re-freeze the $6 billion to Iran, halt aid to the Palestinians, secure the southern border, and stand with Israel.

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Formally Freeze The $6 Billion Ransom Payment To Iran

“On October 7th, Israel experienced the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. This is not a time for any of us to stay silent, and despite what some Democrats and the Squad believe, it is not the time for Israel to back down. That is exactly why last week I led 19 colleagues in calling for President Biden to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment he gave Iran. We know that Iran bankrolls Hamas, and yet is perplexing why Biden refuses to issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion. We need to ensure that not another dollar goes to Iran – even when the media attention on Israel dissipates.”

Halt Aid To The Palestinians

“Unfortunately, we’re also learning that President Biden’s trip to Israel tomorrow was intentionally not announced until Secretary Blinken received assurances from Netanyahu on a humanitarian aid package for Palestine. The U.S. should not be placing conditions on our support for Israel because of demands from The Squad. The administration knew that sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Palestinians could bolster Hamas. Yet President Biden has sent them over $730 million in aid since taking office via the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, and yesterday we learned Hamas stole aid from that group. I’ll be introducing legislation to halt all funding for them until Iran is expelled from the U.N. and investigated for violations of the genocide convention.” 

Secure The U.S. Southern Border

“Americans should also be concerned about our own vulnerabilities resulting from President Biden’s open border policies. As long as Biden allows our border to be wide open, an attack on our own soil isn’t a matter of if – it’s a matter of when. Protecting our homeland and preventing Hamas sympathizers from entering our country is paramount.”

Stand With Israel

 “And the egregious actions of Hamas must not go unpunished. 30 American citizens are dead. Women were raped, paraded through the streets, and murdered. Innocent babies were beheaded. We must permanently freeze the $6 billion ransom payment to Iran, halt taxpayer dollars to the Palestinians, secure our own southern border, and stand with Israel.”

• U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined Senator Blackburn in the press conference. 

• On October 9, two days after the attack began in Israel, Senator Blackburn led 19 Senate Republicans in calling on President Biden and the State Department to immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds.

• On October 12, Senator Blackburn criticized the Biden administration for selectively leaking parts of their backdoor deal with Qatar to the media and refusing to issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment.