Sen. Roger Wicker is catching fire from Trump supporters after publicly warning President Donald Trump against pursuing a deal with Iran, urging the commander in chief to “finish the job” instead of negotiating with Tehran.
Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the sharp warning as Trump officials signaled progress in talks aimed at ending the war with Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The public broadside put Wicker at odds with Trump’s push for a hard-nosed diplomatic off-ramp after the administration used American military force to hammer Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
“We are at a moment that will define President Trump’s legacy,” Wicker said in a statement. “His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”
Wicker argued that Trump should keep the pressure on Iran rather than move toward an agreement with the Islamist regime.
“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” Wicker said. “Further pursuit of an agreement with Iran’s Islamist regime risks a perception of weakness. We must finish what we started. It is past time for action.”
The comments immediately exposed a growing split inside the Republican Party between Trump’s America First approach, which mixes overwhelming force with dealmaking, and hawkish GOP lawmakers who want the military campaign to continue.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, but he has also made clear that he prefers a deal if Tehran is willing to accept terms that protect American interests.
A White House official pushed back on the idea that Trump was rushing into a weak agreement.
“Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and while President Trump always prefers a diplomatic solution, he has been clear about the consequences if Iran refuses to make a deal.”
The official said Trump remains in control of the negotiations after U.S. military and economic pressure put Tehran on its heels.
“As the President stated, he will only make a good deal for the American people. He is not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. Due to the successes of Operation Epic Fury, Economic Fury, and the blockade, President Trump holds the cards and has all the time he needs to make the best deal for the United States and the world,” the official went on.
Wicker’s warning came shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that talks with Iran had shown movement, though he cautioned that no final agreement had been reached.
“There’s been some progress,” Rubio said Thursday. “I wouldn’t exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it.”
“We’re not there yet,” Rubio added. “I hope we get there.”
Rubio said major issues remain unresolved, including Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and whether the regime would be allowed any future uranium enrichment under a potential agreement.
“The issue of highly enriched uranium has to be discussed. Its disposition has to be dealt with. And of course, the issue of future enrichment has to be dealt with as well,” Rubio said.
The Strait of Hormuz also remains part of the broader negotiations, with the administration working to reopen the key shipping lane after the conflict rattled energy markets and raised fears of a wider economic shock.
Wicker has continued to press for a harder line, warning that a rumored 60-day ceasefire would squander the gains made by U.S. forces.
“The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster,” Wicker said Saturday. “Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”
For Trump allies, Wicker’s attack looked like another establishment Republican trying to box the president into an endless-war posture just as Trump is trying to secure a deal from a position of strength.
For Wicker and other Iran hawks, the fear is that Tehran will use negotiations to survive, regroup and keep its nuclear ambitions alive.
But Trump’s defenders argue the president has already shown he is willing to use force and does not need lectures from Washington Republicans about toughness.
The clash highlights a larger fight over the future of GOP foreign policy.
Wicker is pushing the traditional hawkish line: keep bombing, keep escalating and don’t trust Iran at the table.
Trump is pursuing a different playbook: strike hard, force the enemy to negotiate and take a good deal if it serves the American people.
For conservatives who backed Trump to end foreign-policy failures and avoid open-ended wars, Wicker’s warning sounded out of step with the movement now leading the Republican Party.
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