WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are treading carefully as the Iran war enters an uncertain phase, with public opinion polls showing that most Americans believe the conflict is not worth the cost. The political stakes are especially high for GOP members facing reelection this November.
While some Republican legislators say they want clearer answers from President Donald Trump’s administration about the war’s goals and its growing price tag, they have continued to defend the president’s decision to engage militarily and have repeatedly voted to hand congressional authority over to the White House.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican who pressed military officials for more answers during a tense hearing Tuesday, acknowledged the economic strain on Americans. “Is anyone out there in the real world happy with gas prices? No,” Kennedy said. “But I think they understand why gas prices are as high as they are.”
Whether more Republicans — many of whom have been raising concerns behind closed doors — will go public with their doubts remains an open question as midterm elections draw closer. Members of both the House and Senate are expected to face another test this week when Democrats force new votes on whether Trump should be required to get congressional approval before taking military action against Iran.
In recent days, the U.S. has launched multiple rounds of airstrikes as the two nations battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel prices have climbed again, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators Tuesday that the war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far. On Wednesday, Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of remains belonging to four U.S. service members killed in the conflict.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat expected to lead the next war powers vote as early as Thursday, said recent events demand accountability. “I do think the combination of the hearings, plus the fact that we are in this new escalatory phase where Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs — I think it’s important that people be held accountable,” Van Hollen said. “And this is a very unpopular war.”
Recent polling backs that up. A Washington Post/Ipsos survey conducted in July found that relatively few Americans believe the Iran war has been worth fighting, and most lack confidence that U.S. military action and ongoing negotiations will stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Most Americans also disapprove of the way Trump has handled the situation.
Even among Republicans, support is not unanimous. The same poll found that only about two-thirds of Republican voters approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran situation. While roughly six in ten Republicans think the war has been worth fighting, about one-third are not convinced.
South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, who is seeking reelection this year, said he tries to reassure constituents by telling them he has reviewed classified intelligence and believes the war was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — but that the U.S. needs to see it through. “It’s challenging” to explain to people back home, Rounds said. “It’s complicated, and a lot of the stuff we know, we can’t talk about, because it’s classified.”
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, also up for reelection, used Tuesday’s hearing to question military leaders about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “It seems to me that there’s been a different plan almost daily with dealing with this problem,” she told Defense Secretary Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Opposing the war carries its own political risks. Collins was one of just four Republicans who joined Democrats when the Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran for the first time in June. The vote infuriated Trump, who attended a GOP Senate luncheon the following day and referred to the four Republicans as “losers.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy was another Republican who voted for that resolution — and he subsequently lost his Senate seat in a primary after Trump endorsed a rival candidate. During the private luncheon, Cassidy told Trump directly that he owed the public more transparency about the conflict. “This was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months,” Cassidy said. “Our original objectives have not been achieved.”
Trump pushed back, Cassidy later told reporters, and Cassidy said he wouldn’t change his vote unless he received a full briefing. The White House eventually agreed to a one-on-one meeting, and Cassidy switched his vote in a late-night do-over before the Senate departed for a two-week recess.
When asked Wednesday whether the latest developments would affect his vote on the next resolution to halt the war, Cassidy declined to answer. “I’m not commenting on that,” he said.
The House is expected to take up a war powers resolution Thursday, after passing a similar measure in June. It remains to be seen whether enough Republicans would once again join Democrats to pass the measure, which is being led by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has been aggressively lobbying Republican members to vote against the war powers measures. Echoing Trump’s position, Johnson said this week that the U.S. has ensured Iran does not have a nuclear weapon that “would be a disaster for everybody.” He added, however, that there is a broad understanding that “now we got to wrap it up.”
Before departing for Dover on Wednesday, Trump expressed confidence in his handling of the war. “Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they aren’t against the war,” he said.
