WASHINGTON (WLUK) -- Conflict in the Middle East, funding the Department of Homeland Security and tax cuts were among the issues Rep. Tony Wied, R-8th District, discussed in a Connect to Congress interview Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
A staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, Wied expressed his continued support for the United States' military action in Iran. In an interview with Fox Business that aired Wednesday, Trump once again suggested the war is winding down -- but the Pentagon just deployed 10,000 additional U.S. troops to the Middle East.
"For 47 years, we've been dealing with this threat with the Iranian regime. This is a terrorist regime that has wreaked havoc on the world. We now have a president that's decisive and really using leverage and great negotiating skills to really bring this regime to a point where they don't have nuclear weapons," Wied said. "It's a very difficult situation, something the president didn't create, but thankfully, is willing to jump in and make sure that, again, we don't have a nuclear threat in Iran."
I think the vice president is also doing an amazing job and really trying to achieve peace, making sure that we have peace in the Middle East, and that's the objective. I think that's what's going to happen here in the short-term.
Wied also pushed for a deal to fund DHS and end the partial government shutdown that has now lasted for more than 60 days.
"Unfortunately, those on the other side of the aisle, on the Democrat side, continue to want to defund our border and go back to the craziness of the Biden administration, where 20 million people came across our border. House Republicans are committed to making sure that we properly fund Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Custom Enforcement," said Wied.
The great people that work within the Department of Homeland Security to keep us safe, we're going to make sure that they get paid soon.
With Wednesday being Tax Day, the congressman touted how Republicans delivered bigger refunds for Americans this year.
"People are seeing larger returns, larger tax returns, more money in their pocket, whether that's no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, the increased child tax credit. That's the priority of House Republicans, again, is putting more money back into people's pockets," said Wied.
In his interview, Wied discussed several other topics, including the closure of Newcap and why he believes there should be an investigation into the agency's use of taxpayer dollars before any of their grants are transferred to other local nonprofits.