Sen. Roger Marshall says U.S. strikes on Iran are a ‘mop-up operation’

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Sunday said that the war between the U.S. and Iran has moved into a stage he called, “a mop-up operation,” hours after the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran.

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“The major war is over, and think of this as almost just a mop up operation,” Marshall told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “We have to press them if they strike us. We have to strike them back by ten.”

His comments come a week after the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding paving a path to end the conflict. But on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes on Iran for the second time in two days. The first time came after Iran struck a ship moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The second time came after the Pentagon said Iran struck “targets linked to the American aggressor forces” in the region.

Marshall also pointed to a framework agreement for peace between Israel and Lebanon that was brokered this week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as evidence that the U.S. was moving toward reaching its goals, which Marshall characterized as “No nukes for Iran, no forever wars. Bring the cost of gas and grocery down.”

The Kansas senator added, “let’s root for the Trump team for once, rather than try to tear them down. So I think we’re doing what we need to do, making great progress here, and again working toward those goals.”

Pressed on whether the war is actually over, Marshall said, “I’m asking America to hang in there. This is a, this is a détente. This is a ceasefire, and yeah, they broke the ceasefire. We have to answer that as well.”

The Kansas senator also dismissed concerns that the president was backing down from his promises to make life more affordable for Americans by halting the signing of a major bipartisan housing affordability bill.

Trump committed not to sign that bill, which was passed by the House and Senate, until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, legislation that would overhaul elections by requiring voters to present their IDs at the polls and handing state voter rolls to the federal government to check for noncitizens.

“Housing is part of the puzzle, but this is classic Donald Trump negotiation style,” Marshall said. “He’s going to grab every leverage point he can, and this is one to get the bigger priority to cross the finish line, and that’s election integrity.”

“We can have both,” he added. “I understand the cost of living is the defining issue right now, but also … everyone back home is really concerned about election integrity.”