Sunday shows – Pompeo makes rounds in defense of Soleimani strike

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on all five Sunday morning political talk shows to defend President Trump’s decision to launch a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian military commander.

Questions also centered on the impact of the decision in Iraq, where parliament on Sunday voted to expel U.S. forces. 

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Pompeo says Trump administration's 'maximum pressure' strategy on Iran is 'absolutely' working By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Secretary of State Pompeo says President Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy on Iran is “absolutely” working in the wake of a number of attacks culminating in the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike. Read the full story here

Trump threat of Iran strikes 'entirely consistent' with message of de-escalation, Pompeo says By ZACK BUDRYK   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended President Trump’s threats to launch strikes against culturally significant Iranian sites as “entirely consistent” with a policy of de-escalation. Read the full story here

Pompeo on Trump threat to strike Iranian cultural targets: 'We'll behave lawfully' By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded Sunday to President Trump’s threat to attack 52 Iranian sites, including those "important to Iran & the Iranian culture" if Tehran retaliates for Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s death by saying the U.S. will “behave lawfully.” Read the full story here

Pompeo on Iran retaliation: There may be a little 'noise' By REBECCA KLAR    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday there may be “a little noise” from Iran over the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, but defended the Trump administration’s decision to launch the drone strike in which Tehran's top military commander was killed.  Read the full story here

Schiff: I haven't seen intelligence that 'taking out' Soleimani would 'stop the plotting' By REBECCA KLAR   Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that he has not seen intelligence suggesting that killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani would prevent the planning of future attacks against the U.S. Read the full story here

Schumer: 'We do not need this president either bumbling or impulsively getting us into a major war' By JUSTINE COLEMAN    Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) stressed Sunday that congressional approval is needed to enter a war, saying President Trump’s decision to order the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassam Soleimani brought the U.S. closer to that possibility. Read the full story here

Senate Democrat: 'We learned the hard way in the Iraq War' that administrations can 'manipulate' intel By ZACK BUDRYK   Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) expressed skepticism Sunday about purported U.S. intelligence indicating Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US. drone strike, was planning an imminent attack, pointing to erroneous intelligence claiming Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Read the full story here

Buttigieg: No one believes Trump considered all 'consequences' of Soleimani strike By REBECCA KLAR   Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that President Trump has not considered the consequences of the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.  Read the full story here

Warren: 'Reasonable to ask' about timing of Soleimani strike ahead of impeachment trial By REBECCA KLAR    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a top-tier Democratic presidential candidate, said Sunday it is “reasonable to ask” about the timing of the Trump administration's operation that killed top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Read the full story here

Rubio: Trump has shown 'tremendous restraint' on Iran By ZACK BUDRYK   Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) defended the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani by the United States, saying President Trump had shown “tremendous restraint” on Iran prior to the strike. Read the full story here

Graham calls Iran 'the cancer of the Middle East' By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Iran “the cancer of the Middle East,” while saying he was glad one of the country's top military leader, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, was dead. Read the full story here

Pompeo: 'We're confident the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there' By ZACK BUDRYK   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended the continued U.S. presence in Iraq even as the Iraqi parliament convened a special session to discuss expelling American troops after the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qasim Soleimani in Baghdad. Read the full story here

Murphy on Iraqi expulsion vote: 'You can already see the consequences to US security in the region' after Soleimani killing By ZACK BUDRYK   Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said a vote by Iraq’s parliament on Sunday to expel U.S. troops shows that the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike is already resulting in “consequences to U.S. security in the region.” Read the full story here