07/24/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/24/2026 15:49
New York-Today, United States Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Banking Committees, joined Fox & Friends on Fox News to discuss the latest developments in Iran and the SAVE America Act.
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Partial Transcript
Hagerty on Iran and the Abraham Accords: I applaud [President Donald Trump] for bringing major allies in the region together. Iran is getting further and further isolated by a deal like this. And joining the Abraham Accords has been a long-term goal for President Trump. The fact that he has gotten Jared Kushner involved, his wonderful team, John Raider-that team put together the Abraham Accords at a time when it was desperately needed. I think they should have gotten a Nobel Peace Prize for this. And by bringing more into the fold, particularly [Saudi Arabia], the largest economy [in the Middle East], I think this is a major step forward. We are talking about economy, we are talking about prosperity, and I think this sends a message for the entire region that we are ready to move forward […] We are not talking about enrichment programs at all. The [United Arab Emirates (UAE)], other partners of ours, are able to have a civil nuclear program. They report, they do not hide, they do not obfuscate. But I think this is something that we are going to work through the details on with Saudi Arabia. My sense is that President Trump's overarching goal is to bring them into an economic relationship that begets prosperity. I think the sooner we get this wrapped up, the sooner it is taken care of, the more the American public will come on board. I think the issue we have right now is the fact that [the conflict is] dragging out. And I don't fault those that are trying to negotiate trying to bring this together with terms that work because we are going to have to rebuild Iran. But at this point, I think the American public's sentiment, at least as I read the data, [is that] they just want this over with. And if you think about the activity there in the Middle East, [Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Admiral Brad Cooper], was about 75 to 80% of the way through the target package they initially set. [CENTCOM] stopped when they went to a ceasefire. They stopped that when they went to negotiate. I think [Admiral Cooper] is back on track to complete that target package, and that will put the Iranian situation in a much better negotiating position.
Hagerty on funding the Department of War (DOW): I think you have a lot of support for this. We have a reconciliation package working its way through. This is just an immediate fix [for funding the Department of War]. There is about $73 billion in that package to address the [Department of War], but we are talking about a $1.5 trillion package at a time when the military needs a significant rebuild. For four years, [the department was] distracted under [former President Joe Biden's administration], focusing on social engineering, not on lethality. And what the team has found as they have come in is a lot of opportunity to make us stronger. We've demonstrated exquisite results… but we need to continue this momentum and make certain that we are ready to deal with all of the adversarial situations.
Hagerty on Budget Reconciliation and the SAVE America Act: I think what we need to do is actually put something in front of everybody, because if it's voter ID, this is an issue that over 95% of Republicans, and even on the Democrat side, over 70% of Democrats approve of. I don't know why every American does not want to support this. The mail-in balloting issue gets more complicated for some states that are more remote. I understand that issue, but I think that we take it in pieces.
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