The Iran War Is Ramping Back Up And Putting Republicans In A Jam

WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump's war in Iran intensifies and once again jacks up gasoline prices, Democrats in Congress are forcing Republicans to cast votes in favor of the conflict, which has spiraled far beyond the quick-and-clean military victory Trump promised five months ago.

Small numbers of Republicans in the House and Senate on Thursday joined Democrats in voting on resolutions calling on Trump to end the war. The House approved its resolution with support from all Democrats and four Republicans: Tom Barrett (Mich.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) Davidson and Massive are notably skeptical of foreign intervention; Fitzpatrick and Barrett represent swing districts.

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House lawmakers are now heading home for an August recess to campaign with a war so unpopular that even a majority of Trump's most diehard supporters say it's not worth the economic cost. And a new poll out this week gives Democrats an 11-point advantage on a generic ballot. 

Speaking on the House steps — as lawmakers rushed to waiting cars to take them to the airport — Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) specifically called out the three Republicans who represent districts in Colorado, New York and California that were carried by Kamala Harris in 2024. 

"As we head back to our districts, Gabe Evans, Mike Lawler, David Valadeo, have to go and talk to their constituents about why they voted to put service members' lives at risk, why they voted to continue to jack up gas prices as oil just crossed $100 a barrel while we were sitting in that chamber," Casar told reporters. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sounded this week like he really, really wants the war to end soon, even as the administration indicates it's preparing ever-larger strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran. 

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"The commander in chief and the whole Department of War, they're working very hard to bring this to a resolution," Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday in response to a question about when he thought Congress ought to get involved. He said he believed it was important for the U.S. to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb, and that the objective had been achieved. 

"Now we've got to wrap it up," Johnson said. 

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In the Senate, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) forced a vote on a more serious effort to end the war. Unlike the House, which passed a messaging bill, Van Hollen's bill would immediately block Trump from taking any more military action without congressional approval.

"Let us stop pretending that Congress has no role to play while American service members remain in harm's way," Van Hollen said ahead of the vote. "Many of the people who enthusiastically supported launching this war have been unwilling to take responsibility for authorizing it ... It should concern every American, regardless of party."

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His effort narrowly failed, 47-49. One Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, joined Democrats in supporting it. One Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, voted against it. Four Republicans did not vote: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Katie Britt (Ala.).

Lots of Republicans left the vote shrugging off Democrats' efforts to pressure them into reining in Trump's military attacks on Iran.

"It's a waste of time," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is currently running for governor. "It doesn't make any difference. Because at the end of the day, if it were to pass, [Trump] would veto it."

"This is America. This is the United States Senate," Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said of Democrats having the right to request votes. He declined to answer any more questions, saying to call his office.

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Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) said the repeated votes on war powers measures haven't changed his position on the war at all.

"I think if we were going to go, and we made the decision to go, we got to win. It's all there is to it," said Justice. "Winning is only one thing, and it's the nuclear situation. We can't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and leave."

Curiously, of the four Senate Republicans who have previously voted for Democratic measures calling for an end to the war, only one, Collins, voted for Van Hollen's bill on Thursday. Murkowski and Paul did not vote, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) opposed it.

He told reporters afterward that he's comfortable opposing war powers measures now because he's been getting private meetings with Trump administration officials to discuss the direction of the war. He got testy, though, when pressed on how he could say he supported putting parameters on what the president is doing while also opposing Van Hollen's effort to do that.

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"Because that would say, stop it tomorrow," Cassidy said, visibly agitated by the question. "That's not reasonable. I mean, there has to be some sort of — there has to be some sort of planning and forethought for all the actions that take place. And it may feel good and satisfying to the soul to do something preemptive, but that doesn't mean it's good for our national security."

Cassidy, who is a physician, said Van Hollen's bill is like a surgeon going in to operate without first knowing what the anatomy is, what the problem is and what the approach is going to be — a strange comparison to make to Trump starting a war, considering he's faced significant criticism for having no strategy or stated goals as he carries out military attacks on Iran.

When that was pointed out to Cassidy, he replied, "That may be the case, but we are there now. We're in the belly. Which means that you've got to, from this point forward, have that sort of forethought."

The War Powers Resolution, a statute enacted after the Vietnam War in 1973, gives Congress the power to force snap votes to end wars. But if lawmakers want to move an enforceable bill like the one Van Hollen introduced, they don't have the same ability to force a vote in the House. That's why Democrats there keep bringing up measures that are essentially messaging bills. 

"The whole strategy here is they're not bringing up our bills, so we have to file these privileged motions so that we can bring these to the floor," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told HuffPost. 

Jayapal said it was possible Democrats could ask a court to enforce a resolution that had been approved by both the House and Senate – which has already happened – but she said just forcing symbolic votes on the resolutions was still worthwhile. 

"Forcing people to vote on them forces them over and over again to have to contend with this issue," she added, "and go back home and explain to their constituents why they were either absent today and didn't vote or why they voted no."

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