Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, spoke with NPR’s Scott Simon about two linked issues: the month‑long conflict with Iran and the current Department of Homeland Security funding standoff.
On the partial government shutdown, Smith says the core dispute centers on immigration‑enforcement policy, especially reforms to ICE and Border Patrol after instances he describes as overly aggressive and unlawful, citing Minneapolis as a tragic example. He argues Democrats are ready to fund other DHS components — TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA — while negotiating changes to ICE. Smith notes the Senate unanimously approved a bill to do that, but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to bring it to the floor because former President Trump had not signaled support. Smith believes that had it been voted on, it likely would have passed with near‑400 votes and restored TSA funding.
On the Iran war, Smith responds to competing claims about damage to Iran’s missile arsenal. While President Trump said Iran’s missile capacity was “decimated,” U.S. officials told NPR they could confirm only roughly a third had been destroyed. Smith says he would prefer Iran to lack any ballistic‑missile capability, but warns forcing that outcome would carry enormous costs: the risk of a full‑scale Middle East war, global oil disruptions, and still a probable remaining threat. Even optimistic estimates of degradation might leave Iran with some ability to strike, and he notes drones are an even harder problem to eliminate.
Smith describes the conflict as widening, citing Houthi attacks from Yemen and recent missile launches toward Israel, and argues that continued military action is not achieving objectives. His preferred approach is to stop the fighting, secure a ceasefire, and pursue negotiated settlement talks rather than escalate further.