The United States has been at war with Iran since February 28, 2026, when U.S. and Israeli strikes began it.[1] Congress never voted to authorize it, and the president never asked it to.[2] He predicted four to six weeks. It's now in its eighth month.[3] The War Powers Resolution was written to stop exactly this kind of war.
What it's costing us
As of October 10, the Pentagon counted 21 U.S. service members killed and 865 wounded.[13] The Congressional Budget Office estimated the war cost at least $38 billion through August 1, and up to $3 billion a month after that.[4] The Pentagon has told Congress it spent $43.6 billion as of September 3.[5]
You're paying at the pump too. Regular gasoline averaged $4.35 a gallon in September 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration.[6] Most Americans have made up their minds. In an AP-NORC poll released October 1, 69% said the war in Iran has not been worth fighting.[7]
Congress has the power. It has to use it.
The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power "To declare War."[8] The War Powers Resolution of 1973 says that when a president sends troops into hostilities without a declaration or an authorization, he has to end that use of force within 60 days, with up to 30 more to withdraw safely.[9] That deadline passed in the spring. The White House said in June that the April ceasefire had ended the hostilities.[2]
Some members have tried. The House passed a resolution in June telling the president to end hostilities, 215 to 208, with four Republicans voting yes.[1] The Senate passed one on June 23, 50 to 48, with four Republicans.[10] But those were concurrent resolutions, which don't have the force of law,[11] and the war went on. In September another one failed in the Senate by one vote, 49 to 50.[10]
A message isn't enough. The next Congress should pass a binding law to end the war, and if the president vetoes it, use Congress's power over spending. The Constitution says no money comes out of the Treasury unless Congress appropriates it.[8] So: no money for offensive operations Congress never approved.
The objection: "Leaving now lets Iran build a bomb"
This war hasn't settled that question either. In June, after months of strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran "has yet to inform the IAEA of the fate of its stocks of low- and highly enriched uranium."[12] Whatever the right policy on Iran is, the decision to fight a war belongs to Congress. As Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, put it: "You either follow the law or you change the law."[1]
Sources
- NPR (via MPR News), "House passes war powers resolution directing Trump to end hostilities with Iran," June 3, 2026. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/06/03/npr-house-iran-war-powers-vote
- PolitiFact, on the House and Senate war powers votes, June 4, 2026. https://politifact.com/article/2026/jun/04/war-powers-vote-house-senate-iran/
- ABC News, "Senate fails to adopt Iran war powers resolution," September 24, 2026. https://abcnews.com/Politics/senate-fails-adopt-iran-war-powers-resolution-despite/story?id=136722629
- Stars and Stripes, on the Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of the Iran war, September 15, 2026. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-09-15/iran-war-cost-budget-office-22864856.html
- Bloomberg Government, "Pentagon Puts Iran Cost at $43.6 Billion in Estimate to Congress," September 18, 2026. https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/pentagon-puts-iran-cost-at-43-6-billion-in-estimate-to-congress
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, released October 6, 2026. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/
- AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, poll of September 24-28, 2026, released October 1, 2026. https://apnorc.org/projects/most-blame-president-trump-for-higher-prices-and-are-unhappy-with-how-he-is-handling-the-economy/
- U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sections 8 and 9 (National Archives). https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
- 50 U.S. Code § 1544 (Cornell Legal Information Institute). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1544
- U.S. Senate, roll call votes, 119th Congress, 2nd Session. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_119_2.htm
- Lawfare, "What Congressional Resolutions Mean for the War in Iran," June 8, 2026. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/what-congressional-resolutions-mean-for-the-war-in-iran
- The Korea Times (Reuters), "IAEA finds little change in Iran nuclear program after war," June 5, 2026. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/world/20260605/iaea-finds-little-change-in-iran-nuclear-program-after-war
- Stars and Stripes, "Pentagon raises official death toll from Iran war to 21," October 10, 2026. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/2026-10-10/pentagon-death-toll-iran-war-23114546.html