Tipsheet

Even Democrat Senators Are Calling for Freeze of $6 Billion to Iran After Hamas Attacked Israel

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 11, 2023 10:45 AM

Hamas' attack on Israel is made all the more heartbreaking by the role that Iran played, as confirmed by reports from the Wall Street Journal. This comes after the Biden administration announced last month--on the anniversary of September 11, actually--that $6 billion was being released as part of a prisoner exchange. As news of the attack came out on Saturday morning, members of the Biden administration and their allies in the media almost immediately called out those, including sitting members of Congress, who dared to bring up the $6 billion. Nevertheless, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a significant admission during Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press" on NBC News. It is in light of all of this, members of Congress are calling on the administration to void the agreement and freeze the funds. This now includes even Democrats.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's response about the funds during Tuesday's press briefing was unhelpful at best, and also caused considerable confusion. 

Not long after the briefing, POLITICO reported that "Centrist Senate Dems call for freezing $6 billion in Iran assets after Hamas attack in Israel." The piece isn't just about any "Centrist State Dems," but about vulnerable incumbents up for reelection next year, including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the former who is definitely running for reelection.

"I wasn’t supportive of the initial $6 billion transfer. We should absolutely freeze these Iranian assets while we also consider additional sanctions," Manchin, who hasn't yet made clear his plans for 2024, told POLITICO.

Another Democratic senator up for reelection, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, provided a statement as well. "In light of Hamas’s violent and horrific terrorist attack on Israel and Iran’s long-standing support for Hamas, we should freeze these assets," she told the outlet.

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AS of Tuesday night another vulnerable Democratic incumbent, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, doesn't seem to be ready to commit just yet. "I am speaking with my colleagues, the administration, the Israeli government, and the Jewish community in Ohio and across the country to assess the next steps, looking at every tool available to support Israel and defeat Hamas," he told POLITICO.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has already been calling for a freezing of the funds, and circulated a letter to her fellow senators on Monday calling on President Joe Biden to do as much, CC'ing Blinken in the letter. Twenty senators signed on as of Monday night, with many senators also separately calling for the funds to be frozen.

When it comes to Senate races for next year, Dave McCormick, running as a Republican to challenge Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania, has urged the vulnerable Democratic incumbent to call on Biden to freeze the funds, or to introduce legislation to do just that if Biden won't himself.