U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) expressed openness to a potential short-term diplomatic agreement with Iran and voiced deep disappointment over the recent primary defeat of his frequent bipartisan collaborator, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Khanna covered a range of pressing national topics, including war powers, a controversial White House fund, a newly unshelved Democratic National Committee (DNC) autopsy report, and calls for sweeping Supreme Court reforms.
When asked by host Kristen Welker if he would support a short-term deal with Iran that pauses the conflict to allow for deeper negotiations—even if it leaves the nuclear program unaddressed initially—Khanna gave a definitive “yes.”
“I do believe we need a negotiated deal,” Khanna said. “Thomas Massie and I, as he mentioned, actually [introduced] the Iran War Powers Act two months ago. We would have avoided this war. Food prices wouldn’t have gone up. Gas prices wouldn’t have gone up. And we could have done this negotiation. But I’ve always said that I would support negotiation. And it’s time for this war to end.”
READ: Ousted Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie Sounds The Alarm On His Historic $25M Primary Loss
Khanna asserted that the House currently possesses enough votes to pass the War Powers Act, despite Republican leadership abruptly pulling the measure from the floor last week after a 45-to-60-minute delay. He noted that agricultural and energy pressures back home are shifting Republican opinions.
“They’ve talked to farmers who say the price of nitrogen, ammonia, urea are through the roof because of the blockades and control of the Strait of Hormuz,” Khanna explained. “They know that the price of gas is up. The price of diesel is up. And they’re hearing it from their constituents.”
Disappointment Over Massie’s Defeat
Khanna did not hide his frustration regarding the political ouster of Massie, a prominent libertarian-leaning Republican with whom the progressive Democrat often crossed aisles to challenge institutional norms.
“Sadness, disappointment. Thomas is a real friend,” Khanna said. “He’s a good man. And he was taken out for two reasons. One, he had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the Epstein Transparency Act passed… And second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. So for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his seat. And I admire his courage in taking those positions.”
Slamming the “Anti-Weaponization Fund”
The California congressman also took aim at a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” championed by President Donald Trump and defended by Vice President JD Vance. The administration has described the fund as a bipartisan resource to compensate individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted by federal law enforcement.
Khanna sharply rejected Vance’s defense of the program.
“I feel sorry for JD Vance,” Khanna remarked. “They’re trotting him out to defend policies he knows are defiant of common sense. They’re trotting him out to defend the Epstein class when he actually was one of the advocates for releasing the files… And now they’re trotting him out to defend Donald Trump stealing taxpayer dollars to give to his political allies.”
Khanna questioned why those funds were not instead being distributed directly to everyday Americans struggling with soaring fuel costs.
DNC Autopsy and Party Leadership
Turning internal, Khanna addressed the recently released DNC autopsy report, which had been shelved before public pressure forced its publication. The document offered a blunt assessment of the party’s recent losses, stating that “Democrats are trying to win arguments while Republicans are focused on winning elections.”
While Khanna rejected the idea that Democrats should abandon reasoned debate, he acknowledged that the establishment has failed to connect with voters feeling left behind by a “lopsided and unfair” economy.
“Too often we’ve run status quo establishment candidates who have been unwilling to call out an economic and political system that has failed,” Khanna said.
Commenting on the report’s finding that the White House failed to properly position Vice President Kamala Harris to boost her standing, Khanna—who served on the Biden-Harris 2024 national advisory board—reflected on tactical choices.
“I do believe that in retrospect had she been in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio talking about the economy and been the lead for the president’s economic policies… perhaps we would have done better,” he noted, adding that the party must now pivot to a message that directly addresses working-class citizens who have been “shafted.”
Despite the friction, Khanna stood firmly against mounting calls from within his party for DNC Chair Ken Martin to resign. He praised Martin’s policies to ban Super PACs in Democratic primaries and eliminate superdelegates from picking presidential nominees. While admitting Martin “absolutely” could have handled the autopsy rollout better, Khanna concluded, “I don’t believe he should resign.”
Escalating the Battle Over the Supreme Court
Finally, Khanna doubled down on his aggressive proposals to alter the U.S. Supreme Court following its recent decisions restricting voting rights. Khanna has previously called for a 13-seat expanded bench and structural term limits.
Defending the aggressive strategy against concerns that Republicans would simply expand the court further when back in power, Khanna leveled fierce historical comparisons against the current judicial branch.
“This is a Dred Scott court. They have engaged in the fastest rollback of Black political rights since Rutherford Hayes ended Reconstruction in 1877,” Khanna argued, noting that the redrawn districts threaten the seats of prominent Black lawmakers like Reps. Jim Clyburn and Bennie Thompson.
“I do believe if you combine term limits on the court and the expansion of the court where every president gets two appointees, you would depoliticize this,” Khanna said. “This is an assault on John Lewis, Dr. King, and the civil rights legacy. And the Democratic Party needs to run against this court and call this court out.”
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