{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=C56A0C38-8C59-4D2D-861B-43D0A7B5E287", "McConnell On War With Iran, Aligned Adversaries, and Fallen Kentuckian", "2026-03-12", "2026", "2026-03", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor honoring the life of Staff Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington and aligned allies and adversaries in the war with Iran:\n\nThis week, we learned that a seventh American had died in war with Iran. Staff Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, U.S. Army, was a native of Glendale, Kentucky, not far from Fort Knox. He was deployed with the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. And an Iranian strike mortally wounded him in the line of duty.\n\nI\u2019m confident that, today, Glendale and the rest of Hardin County are surrounding Sergeant Pennington\u2019s parents, Timothy and Carrie, with support.\n\nTheir son was, by all accounts, deeply admired by the neighbors, pastors, and coaches who helped him become the man he was. At his alma mater, Central Hardin High School, Benjamin Pennington was remembered as \u201cthe quintessential all-American\u201d.\n\nOf course, there is no amount of praise for Sergeant Pennington\u2019s character, commitment, or bravery that can fill the hole left by his loss. The knowledge that he fell pursuing a noble calling is a small comfort. But it cannot obscure an empty seat at the dinner table.\n\nAnd so my deepest sympathies are with the Pennington family \u2013 today, and in the difficult days to come.\n\n***\n\nMr. President, the sacrifices of Sergeant Pennington and six other fallen comrades in war with Iran have not been in vain.\n\nFor nearly half a century, Iran has waged war on the United States. In fewer than two weeks, U.S. and partner operations have degraded Iran\u2019s military, its missile threat, and its capacity to spread violence and terror. And in doing so, they\u2019ve delivered a small measure of justice for the hundreds of U.S. personnel killed by the Iranian regime.\n\nThere\u2019s been plenty of discussion about where this war fits among U.S. strategic priorities, and I hope the Administration will be more forthcoming on this front soon.\n\nBut some critics want to evaluate war with Iran without even acknowledging that wider context\u2026 As if combatting the rampant terror and violence from China\u2019s leading source of oil and Russia\u2019s leading source of attack drones has nothing to do with peace in Europe or deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.\n\nI\u2019ve called out this fiction before. I\u2019ve urged colleagues and decisionmakers in successive administrations not to overlook the ways our adversaries\u2019 threats to America\u2019s interests are increasingly aligned.\n\nThe PRC is not a neutral observer in the Middle East. Beijing has an interest in the steady flow of cheap Iranian oil \u2013 to the tune of 1.4 million barrels last year. And as Iran\u2019s proxy wars, missile program, and nuclear ambitions taxed our attention and resources, the PRC benefited strategically and financially from the distraction.\n\nRussia isn\u2019t a disinterested party, either. Moscow and Tehran, together, propped up the brutal Assad regime in Syria, allowing them to project power deeper into the Middle East and the Mediterranean. A shadow fleet has continued to help both regimes evade western sanctions. And needless to say, Russia\u2019s war of conquest in Ukraine would look quite different without a steady supply of Iranian attack drones.\n\nIranian drones in Ukrainian skies have already made the connections between America\u2019s adversaries crystal clear. But now, public reporting also indicates Russia may be providing intelligence for Iran\u2019s attacks across the Gulf.\n\nThe President\u2019s all-purpose emissary, Steve Witkoff, has downplayed these reports and relayed Russia\u2019s strenuous denial of any such intelligence sharing. And for the sake of U.S. servicemembers, I certainly hope that\u2019s true. But unlike Mr. Witkoff, I am not at all inclined to, quote, \u201ctake the Russians at their word\u201d.\n\nInstead, I\u2019ve warned successive presidents to take the Russian-Iranian axis more seriously. I urged President Biden to hold Iran to account for underwriting terror and killing Americans. But a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan emboldened Tehran and Moscow, both.\n\nI supported a national security supplemental even though I thought President Biden\u2019s approach to Russia and Iran was too weak. I did it not only because supporting Ukraine was in our strategic interests, but because these funds helped replenish American stockpiles and start restoring our own defense industrial base.\n\nIf the Senate receives a request for supplemental appropriations today, I hope our colleagues who oppose the president\u2019s use of force against Iran will still see an overdue opportunity to invest in urgent and strategic defense priorities.\n\nWeakness invites challenge. But our adversaries have sought to weaken and undermine America regardless of who our Commander-in-Chief is.\n\n***\n\nMr. President, I\u2019ve underscored America\u2019s interest in a just and lasting end to Russia\u2019s war many times before. But let\u2019s say for the sake of argument that you\u2019re still inclined to treat the outcome of the largest land war in Europe since 1945 as someone else\u2019s concern\u2026\n\nWell, Russian support to Iran is not someone else\u2019s concern. If Russia is aiding Iranian attacks against Americans, that is very much our concern.\n\nIf you believe that the United States\u2019 role in the war in Ukraine is as a neutral mediator between equally culpable belligerents\u2026 this development might be tough to square. Likewise with the fact that Ukraine was the first foreign government to voice unequivocal support of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran.\n\nAnd unlike Moscow, Kyiv is not asking that we just take its word. Look at its actions:\n\nRight now, teams of Ukraine\u2019s top experts in drone warfare are on the ground in the Gulf, helping America\u2019s allies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE defend against Iranian drone attacks.\n\nMany of the Ukrainian systems that Gulf allies are eager to procure were first offered to the United States many months ago. Unfortunately, until death began to rain from the skies over U.S. facilities in the Gulf twelve days ago, it\u2019s my understanding that these discussions had gone nowhere fast.\n\nMr. President, administration officials were right to identify Ukraine as \u201cthe Silicon Valley of warfare\u201d. But other officials have slowed or paused assistance to these same brave innovators and have missed opportunities to apply Ukraine\u2019s technology and tactics to our own planning. The previous administration, too, failed to adapt and harvest Ukraine\u2019s lessons.\n\nBut the past is behind us. To learn from the world\u2019s foremost experts in drone warfare, we have to go beyond words. Our security assistance to Ukraine is a critical tool to help end Russia\u2019s war on terms favorable to the West. It\u2019s an investment in tapping cutting-edge technological and industrial capacity. And the return on investment is worth it.\n\nAmerica is stronger and more secure when we stand with our friends and stand up to our enemies. This is not murky or ambiguous. It\u2019s an opportunity for moral clarity and strategic wisdom.\n\nNo better friend\u2026 No worse enemy.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=C56A0C38-8C59-4D2D-861B-43D0A7B5E287"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4347969554364681, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}