Rep. Brian Mast, a retired Army Ranger and double amputee, Friday accused congressional Democrats of trying to "steal" a moment of reflection during a hearing held earlier this week to discuss U.S. foreign policy concerning Iran in the wake of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani's death.
Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" that during the hearing, he told lawmakers they should reflect on what Soleimani's death means to military members who were killed during the war on terrorism.
"If you walk out this hallway, you are going to come to several beautiful walls that have the names of our fallen service members from the war on terror," Mast told lawmakers. "I would ask, can any of you provide me one name on that wall that doesn't justify killing Soleimani?"
Mast said he had two minutes and 30 seconds to speak and that he would sit and wait for a response, and after a short time, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-NY, told Mast he'd "made his point" and that he was "out of order."
The congressman appeared on the program with Virginia Republican congressional candidate Rob Jones and Wisconsin Republican congressional candidate Jason Church and argued that the criticism of the operation to take out Soleimani proves the need for more veterans in Congress. All three men lost their legs while in combat.
Mast said he wanted to force members of Congress to answer his question, not to "give them a pass on it," but instead they "tried to steal a moment of reflection about our fallen service members — friends of mine, friends of Jason, friends of Rob — because it didn't fit their political agenda."
"They tried to silence us; we can't let them do it," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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