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Strait of Hormuz Blockade: Jim Pfaff on Iran, Graham’s Seat & the World Cup | Jul 24, 2026

Published: July 24, 2026
Network: On Second Thought with Chuck Boozer (WHKY 1290 AM Hickory)
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff

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Oil prices are back above $100, and the Strait of Hormuz is the reason. Jim Pfaff, President of The Conservative Caucus, joined Chuck Boozer on WHKY’s On Second Thought on July 24 to explain what the maritime tracking data actually shows: Iran has not closed the strait. The real story is drones, leftover missiles, and tanker companies weighing risks the U.S. military cannot take for them. Pfaff also named the kind of senator who should fill Lindsey Graham’s seat, traced the deep state directly back to Congress, and delivered his verdict on the FIFA World Cup hosted in the United States.

Topics Covered

• Strait of Hormuz: An Irritant, Not an Obstruction
• The Houthi Wildcard and $100 Oil
• Why Pfaff Backs Trump on Iran
• Filling the Lindsey Graham Hole
• The Deep State Is Congress’s Fault
• The FIFA World Cup: A 1-0 Final and an Economic Boon
• Key Takeaways

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Strait of Hormuz: An Irritant, Not an Obstruction

Pfaff does his own homework on this conflict. He watches maritime tracking websites that show the live status of ships — the same data Fox News and the other networks draw from when they put tanker traffic on screen. What that data shows cuts against the blockade headline.

“Iran is, is not an obstruction, it is an irritant in the strait, and that’s why you’re seeing it sort of close down.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

The distinction matters because of how the closure actually works. The biggest threat is Iranian drones, which carry enough explosive capability to damage any oil tanker trying to traverse the strait. The secondary threat is the missiles Iran still has. Airstrikes alone cannot destroy every missile — the only way to secure them is boots on the ground, and Donald Trump has not put boots on the ground. That leaves the Gulf states at risk and keeps pressure on the shipping lanes.

The U.S. military has already helped hundreds of ships through, mostly clandestinely, as Trump announced a few weeks ago. But an escort is only half the equation. The companies running those oil tankers still have to be willing to accept the risk of getting hit by an Iranian drone — and not all of them will. It is easy for a military and a country like ours to take a risk. It is much harder to get a mass of individual commercial decisions to do the same. That is why traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thins out even without a formal blockade.

The Houthi Wildcard and $100 Oil

The twist Pfaff flagged is on the other side of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have claimed they are closing the strait at the end of the Red Sea, on Saudi Arabia’s western side — the opposite coast from the Strait of Hormuz, which sits east along the UAE and Qatar. A grouping of Saudi Arabian oil tankers is sitting by the bay where Saudi Arabia’s oil pipeline feeds out into the Red Sea, and those ships have not yet decided to start traversing that strait.

That Red Sea outlet is one of the escape valves that has kept the whole situation from being worse. That’s why oil prices are up above $100 again — speculation that even more shipping is going to shut down. One chokepoint under drone threat is a problem. Two chokepoints, on both coasts of Saudi Arabia, is a price shock.

Why Pfaff Backs Trump on Iran

Pfaff is no war enthusiast. He told Boozer he is not big into doing these wars and was hesitant about going in. He backs this one anyway, because he trusts Donald Trump’s judgment and his purpose — and because of what Iran is.

“Iran is an entirely illegitimate regime that is absolutely— that has been destructive not just in their own region, but to a certain extent worldwide. And it’s got to stop.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

His condition is speed: this thing needs to get done quick, and he said so twice. He also named the political stakes without flinching. People who gain something politically from a war do so at great risk — though he does not count Trump among those doing it for political reasons — and great risk has been undertaken. The consequences of that risk are playing out in the strait right now. TCC has tracked this operation from the start in our analysis of Trump’s strike on Iran’s nuclear program.

Filling the Lindsey Graham Hole

The conversation turned home: Lindsey Graham, 71, is leaving the Senate seat he held for South Carolina, and the field is already crowding — Mark Sanford and Ralph Norman among the names in the ring. Pfaff was specific about what kind of senator the seat needs next, and what kind it does not.

“we don’t need people serving in Congress who are too aligned with the military-industrial complex, too aligned with the— what I would roughly called the deep state, and, uh, too aligned with the system as it exists right now, because the system is really broken.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

His pick for the mold of a successor: someone like Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who has already been fighting these fights. Pfaff gave Graham his due — he ran the Judiciary Committee and dealt well with Supreme Court nominations that Democrats tried to explode. Not all bad. Pfaff put Graham a notch above his friend John McCain, but only a notch. And on the succession itself, Pfaff broke with the President directly: he disagrees with Donald Trump endorsing Graham’s sister and does not think she is the person for the seat.

The Deep State Is Congress’s Fault

Then Pfaff answered the question most politicians dodge: why do we have a deep state at all? The Constitution’s design is simple — Congress passes the bills, the executive branch implements them. But Congress passes bills that place no requirements on the executive branch. So the agencies fill the vacuum with all three kinds of power at once. They write the rules, which is legislative authority. They decide whether you broke the rules, which is judicial authority. And they lay fines and pursue criminal processes, which is police authority — all combined in unelected agencies.

“This is Congress’s fault because, one, they do far too much.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference stripped courts of the requirement to defer to an agency’s own administrative findings. Pfaff called that a long step in the right direction — but the agency still makes the first call on whether you did wrong, and that is a judicial function no agency should hold. His fix has two parts: get rid of some of these agencies outright, and write restraints on the rest into the legislation itself. Graham was as much a part of that broken arrangement as anyone, which is exactly why the seat matters. It is the same fight laid out in Trump’s 10-point plan to end the deep state.

The FIFA World Cup: A 1-0 Final and an Economic Boon

The segment closed on the FIFA World Cup hosted in the United States, and Pfaff — a football man, not a “soccer” man — called it a far bigger event than exporting a Super Bowl or a World Series. This was a multi-week tournament of significant games, with the sport’s entire postseason played on American soil. The final was a 1-0 win for Spain, and for viewers who understand the game the way the rest of the world does, it was one of the great World Cup final matches.

“It was an economic boon because you got a lot of money that comes in from around the world to follow all this from so many different countries.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

That is why countries fight FIFA — sometimes corruptly — to be the home country. The tournament was a marquee event and a big net positive for the United States, with benefits for Mexico and Canada too. Visitors from other countries came, had a good time, and are taking those stories back home. Pfaff also credited Fox’s broadcast: the right commentators, who knew the game and knew they were talking to Americans, not just a world feed.

Key Takeaways

1. Iran is an irritant, not an obstruction – Maritime tracking data shows the Strait of Hormuz closing down through risk, not blockade: drones that can damage tankers, plus missiles that only boots on the ground can secure.
2. Escorts are not enough – The U.S. military has helped hundreds of ships through, mostly clandestinely, but tanker companies still have to accept the drone risk themselves — and not all of them will.
3. The Houthis put oil over $100 – Their claimed closure of the Red Sea strait has Saudi tankers sitting idle by the pipeline outlet, and speculation about further shutdowns pushed prices above $100.
4. Speed is the condition on Iran – Pfaff was hesitant about the war but trusts Trump’s judgment against an entirely illegitimate regime. His demand: it has to get done quick.
5. Graham’s seat needs a Freedom Caucus fighter – Someone like Ralph Norman, not another senator aligned with the military-industrial complex and the deep state. Pfaff disagrees with Trump’s endorsement of Graham’s sister.
6. Congress built the deep state – By passing bills with no requirements on the executive branch, Congress handed agencies legislative, judicial, and police power. The fix: eliminate agencies and write restraints into law.
7. The World Cup was a win for America – A multi-week economic boon with a great 1-0 Spain final, benefits for Mexico and Canada, and a Fox broadcast built for American viewers.

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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.

Originally broadcast Jul 24, 2026 on On Second Thought (WHKY 1290 AM Hickory).