Thomas Massie casts lone Republican vote against US sanctions on Iran

On Wednesday, a resolution condemning Hamas and "standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war" and urging "full enforcement of United States sanctions against Iran" was passed in the House almost unanimously, with 412 voting in favor, 10 against, and 6 present.

Among those who voted against denouncing the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist organization were nine Democrats, including "Squad" members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Cori Bush, according to the Daily Mail.

They were joined by a further five Democrats, Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Al Green, André Carson, Delia Ramirez, and Summer Lee, as well as one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie.

In a post on X, Massie explained that he would not be voting for the resolution because it "calls for sanctions on a sovereign country," and "asserts the necessity of foreign aid commitments which [he has] voted against."

The bill, House Resolution 771, "urges full enforcement of United States sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran’s funding of terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad."

In the weeks since Hamas launched its latest wave of terrorist attacks against Israel, members of the Squad issued expressed anti-Israel sentiments and issued statements in support of Hamas.

When asked about the brutal massacre carried out by the terrorists on Monday, for example, they ignored the question and instead called for a ceasefire. 

Numerous Squad members have been criticized by President Biden's press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre,  over their anti-Israel posts on social media.

"We're going to continue to be very clear," she said. "We believe they're wrong, we believe they're repugnant, and we believe they're disgraceful."

Jean-Pierre reiterated that the US' condemnation "belongs squarely with terrorists who have brutally murdered, raped, kidnapped hundreds, hundreds of Israelis."

"There can be no equivocation about that," she added. "There are not two sides here. There are not two sides."

On Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene brought a resolution to censure Tlaib over her apparent sympathy for the terrorist organization.

The resolution to condemn Hamas was the first order of business under new House speaker Mike Johnson.

"Our nation's greatest ally in the Middle East is under attack," he said. "We're going to show not only Israel, but the entire world, that the barbarism of Hamas that we have all seen play out on our television screens and wretched and wrong, and we're gonna stand for the food in that conflict."