UPDATE: On Thursday night, the House passed Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce's (R-CA) Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act (H.R. 5931).

***Original Post***

The Obama administration recently threatened to veto legislation that would prevent America from sending future ransom payments to Iran. The threat comes after reports that the White House paid Iran $1.7 billion to ensure the release of four American prisoners. In a Republican leadership press briefing on Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the administration for succumbing to Iranian pressure.

“We want America to lead. We want our enemies to fear us, and we want our allies to trust us. So what does it say when the United States repeatedly bends over backwards to accommodate the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism?

Secretary of State John Kerry is a big part of the problem as he continues to "shill' for Iran, Ryan argued.

“By bend over backwards, I do not just mean all of these concessions, cash infusions, and side deals. I do not just mean sending the Secretary of State out to shill for Iran like he’s the president of the Tehran chamber of commerce. And I do not just mean paying ransom for hostages.

Chairman Ed Royce, who sponsored H.R. 5931, the House version of the bill to prevent promissory notes being sent to Iran, stood alongside Ryan at the briefing and reminded the White House that Iran is the "number one state sponsor of terrorism."