Democrats ‘Apprehensive’ About Military Action Against Iran: Senior Reporter

And as the U.S. weighs military action against Iran, congressional Democrats are planning to force a vote on a war powers resolution. Democratic leadership announced the news Thursday, saying the vote will take place as soon as Congress reconvenes next week. Joining us now to discuss this, as well as the consequential U.S. Senate race in Texas, is Nathan Worcester, senior reporter with the Epoch Times. Nathan, thank you for joining us today. So what are Democrats saying about potential strikes on Iran to start off? Well, you know, I've heard some apprehension. That's one way to describe it from Tim Kaine, who has been leading this effort. Notably, he led the effort on a Venezuela war powers resolution against the backdrop of the capture of Maduro. That ultimately failed, but an initial procedural vote did win some Republican support. That, he has said in conversations with reporters and with me, that might signal that at the very least, there could be some additional discussions, people brought up to the Hill to answer questions from senators. Also, I spoke with Mark Kelly of Arizona, a veteran and a former astronaut, who raised concerns about just what such a strike could mean, whether this, if it is protracted, could be both unpopular and also something that would be just tough for the United States to withstand. I will add, though, that in past conversations I had over the previous few weeks with Democrats, including Jason Crowe in the House, I generally heard some confidence from Crowe, from Chris Coons, that actually the United States, in the event of such a strike, would be able to protect its military assets in the region beyond the ones that we've seen massing in the Persian Gulf. Notably, we have a large presence in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East. You know, there was a similar battle over Venezuela. Do you expect this war powers resolution, this vote to succeed? Well, that's a great question. I think it will depend on the evolving situation on the ground. Many people observed that after a recent briefing with the Gang of Eight, it seemed as though Democrats were not exactly endorsing any sort of rush to airstrikes. But in the words of Leader Chuck Schumer, this is very serious. The president should make his case to the American people. I think this will depend on, well, after the summer's airstrikes on nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran, just where are they, if they are enriching uranium material, doing so? To what extent does the situation look like one in which, if we do see a push towards regime change in line with the protests, would we then see the IRGC, the security arm of the regime, seeing backlash or would they be able to step in and fill the void? There are many unanswered questions that come with any sort of contemplated strikes on Iran. With Trump, of course, we've seen a pattern of quick, short strikes, things like the capture of Maduro. I think that, in the context of Venezuela, took the wind out of the sails of people pushing for a war of powers resolution. I would imagine that is also entering into the calculation of lawmakers. I do think that we would probably see a repeat of what we saw with Venezuela, maybe some Republicans splitting off. But ultimately, I don't necessarily foresee a significant rebellion from Republicans or much unexpected from Democrats on this, aside from, as I said after the Gang of Eight briefing, a sense that among Democrats, even if they're not endorsing this effort wholeheartedly, they see this as a serious challenge, what Iran presents. Okay, now, thank you on that. But I also understand, Nathan, you're heading to Texas this weekend to cover the upcoming U.S. Senate primary on March 3rd. Tell us why this race is drawing so much attention. Yes, this will be my return to Texas. I was there the other week as early voting got underway. And we have heated primaries both on the Republican and on the Democratic side. On the Republican side, John Cornyn, as you mentioned, he's defending his seat. He has not gotten the endorsement from Trump. But on the other hand, you've had Trump endorse him alongside Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, who is the number two, maybe even number one contender. And then Wesley Hunt, who's also in the race. Trump said, essentially, they're all good people. Lots of money pouring into that race, especially from Senate leadership-aligned PACs and similar groups, which speaks to the fact that, yes, in the words of Leader Thune, there's a worry that with Paxton on the ticket, perhaps he would just be able to energize Democrats depending on who they select. And so on the Democratic side, you have James Tallarico. He's a state representative, someone who also has a fair amount of PAC money behind him, despite his claims that he hopes to get big money out of politics. He is facing Representative Jasmine Crockett, someone whose seat was lost in this recent redistricting in Texas. And they are both, especially Crockett, pulling out all the stops in terms of some of those attacks that we've seen. And as with the attacks on the Republican side, this is a vicious and very expensive race, the most expensive Senate primary in history at this point, according to Ad Impact. So can I ask you, what is the likelihood of a Democratic win? Because the Texas U.S. Senate seat flipping blue would be a major upset, right? What would this mean for the Senate Republicans' stronghold in the South? Well, Texas is a unique state. But like a lot of other Southern states, it has become pretty reliably Republican over the past few decades. I think it has been decades since a senator was elected from Texas who belonged to the Democratic Party. I think Democrats are hoping they can repeat something like we saw in Twitter. Beto O'Rourke did lose to Senator Ted Cruz, but it was a relatively narrow loss in this midterm during the first Trump administration. Really, that would be a pretty crushing blow. On the other hand, you do have the institutional advantages that Texas possesses for the Republican Party of pretty unchallenged dominance, both in the Senate and in the House, as well as at the state legislative level and within the governor's mansion. It would be tough, but they're hoping James Tallarico can do it. Crockett certainly has her supporters, the Congressional Black Caucus, but she has gotten some pushback. What I heard from many people was concerns with whether she really could win statewide in a place like Texas against a Paxton or a Cornyn. I think Democrats are hoping, some Republicans are fearing, that a Tallarico-Paxton matchup would be relatively strong for the Democrats. They might still lose, but it would be a more expensive race and one, I would just add, that comes as Republicans are hoping to defend or to win contested seats elsewhere in the country, places like Maine, North Carolina, and Georgia. All right, Nathan, before we let you go here, maybe you can just tell us a little bit more about your trip to Texas, maybe what you're hoping to learn from voters, local politicians. Well, having been there just last week, I got the sense from people in Austin, which is a Tallarico stronghold, among the Democrats, many of them, they would say, we like Crockett, but we really do think that James Tallarico is the stronger candidate, one who could potentially beat a Republican. I'm interested in hearing from other people in the state and from lawmakers, those who support Cornyn or Paxton or Tallarico or Crockett, just what their reasoning is. And I really want to learn, what are people voting on? I found that in speaking with early voters, not just in Texas, but elsewhere in the country, there is definitely a strong sense of partisanship. Many Democrats tell me that they're voting really against the Trump administration. Many Republicans are seconding their vote for him in 2024, trying to bring forward their support. I'm very interested in the case of Texas, just how some of the border and immigration policies are playing out in places like the district that is being defended, ultimately, by Henry Huelar, a Democrat who's very vulnerable there. The border, the effects of cartel activity, that's a very real concern that's been going on for years. So I am interested in seeing what voters in places like that might say about what the Trump administration has done and how that's going to affect their votes. Yeah, this is an important race, Nathan. We'll be following your report. All the best in Texas. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you so much. Glad to be with you.