Rep. Ben Cline Says War in Iran Was Not a ‘Choice’

Rep. Ben Cline said Republicans need to message more on why they think it was necessary for President Donald Trump to strike Iran.

“We’re trying to communicate that this is not a war that is a choice,” Cline told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman during the latest episode of the On NOTUS podcast. “This is something that America must engage on because Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”

Cline, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, added that stopping Iran’s movement toward a nuclear weapon was critical.

“By all accounts, they were moving in that direction,” Cline said. “And whether they were days, weeks, hours, months away from having that weapon is not as important as the fact that that progress needed to stop,” adding that stopping that progress was a “must-do for America.”

Trump recently voiced support for a clean extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a surveillance-authority law set to expire this month. Some privacy hawks in the House, including members of the Freedom Caucus, are pushing back against any extension, which enables federal agencies to surveil targeted foreign individuals when they are outside the U.S.

Cline, who is also a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he supports some reforms to the law, but recognizes that reauthorization is essential.

“I have always supported a warrant requirement, and there are a sizable number of my colleagues who are really insisting that that warrant requirement be part of any final reauthorization,” Cline said.

“Now, whether it can be negotiated to a short-term extension while this conversation continues, I think that these members, Freedom Caucus members, are open to that conversation and that’s going on behind the scenes,” Cline added. “So we will get to a point where this moves forward, but it’s going to have to continue to be reformed.”

Many Democrats are also worried that the Trump administration may use Section 702 to surveil U.S. citizens as well.

Cline said that despite those disagreements, he thinks it is unlikely that the law does not get reauthorized.

“I do believe that at the end of the day, Republicans and Democrats recognize the need to keep the country safe,” Cline said.

“Now, when the monitoring of foreigners picks up information about American citizens, that’s when you have an issue, and that’s when you need to ensure that the constitutional rights of American citizens are protected,” Cline added.

On NOTUS is a weekly podcast in which NOTUS reporters talk to lawmakers about how they got to Washington and what motivates them. You can download or listen here.