Kentucky's two U.S. Senators and members of the U.S. House are reacting to the U.S. drone strikethat killed the leading Iranian military leader, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell
Ina speech on the Senate floor Friday, the Republican Majority Leader strongly supported the killing of Soleimani.
“This morning Iran’s master terrorist is dead," McConnell said. "The architect and chief engineer of the world’s most active state sponsor of terroism has been removed from the battlefield at the hand of the United States military. No man alive was more directly responsible for the deaths of more American service members than Qasem Soleimani."
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul
Paul questioned the move by Trump in a series of tweets Friday.
When Henry Clay lost his son in the Mexican American War in 1847, he spoke to a public gathering in Lexington, which included a young Congressman Abraham Lincoln in the crowd.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 3, 2020
U.S Rep. James Comer, 1st House District
Comer, a Republican from Tompkinsville and strong supporter of President Trump, backed the drone strike in a statement released Friday.
“I applaud President Trump and our Armed Forces for their bold and courageous action in taking out a brutal terrorist responsible for the bloodshed of hundreds of American citizens in Iraq,” Comer said.
U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, 2nd House District
Guthrie, a Republican from Bowling Green, also supported the strike.
“Qassem Soleimani has directed attacks at U.S. troops and has the blood of hundreds of American lives on his hands. Our brave men and women in uniform eliminated him from the battlefield. I think President Trump reacted restrained and appropriately, and I do hope Iran sees the power and will of our military and de-escalates their provocations. In the coming days I stand ready to work with my colleagues in Congress and the administration to respond to any further escalation in the Middle East," Rep. Brett Guthrie said in an emailed statement.
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, 3rd House District
Yarmuth, Kentucky's only Congressional Democrat, criticized the attack in a statement posted on Twitter Friday.
My statement on the Trump Administration’s deadly airstrike targeting Iranian military leaders at the Baghdad International Airport: pic.twitter.com/uRB45k5zMq
— Rep. John Yarmuth (@RepJohnYarmuth) January 3, 2020
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, 4th House District
Massie, a Republican and close ally of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, questioned the wisdom of the drone strike in a tweet Friday.
War propaganda is a powerful drug and so readily available right now.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 3, 2020
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, 5th House District
Rogers, a Republican from Somerset, supported the killing of Soleimani.
Soleimani ordered the killings of Americans and facilitated the siege of our embassy in Iraq. With this enemy of our country and our democracy now vanquished, I hope Iran appreciates the strength of our military as well our desire for peace and stability in the Middle East.
— Hal Rogers (@RepHalRogers) January 3, 2020
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, 6th House District
Barr, a Lexington Republican, said the death of Soleimani was welcome news.
The @DeptofDefense has confirmed that Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani—Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and Shiite insurgency leader responsible for the killing of hundreds of Americans in Iraq—was killed in Baghdad tonight by a U.S. airstrike. https://t.co/5z93Wxr6Rz
— Rep. Andy Barr (@RepAndyBarr) January 3, 2020