The House is right to curb Donald Trump's unaccountable war
By Alma Cordero · Reporting from El Paso ·
The price of a gallon of diesel just topped six dollars, and in the neighborhoods where people actually drive the trucks that feed this country, that isn’t a statistic—it’s a crisis.
The price of a gallon of diesel just topped six dollars. In the neighborhoods where drivers haul grain and livestock in semi-trailers to feed the country, that is not a statistic; it is a crisis. While policy circles discuss geopolitical goals, families in El Paso feel the squeeze of an inflation rate that a war pushed up by half a percentage point.
For nearly 200 days, Donald Trump has treated the U.S. military as a private security firm. Anadolu Agency said the House of Representatives voted for a third time to force the President to end the conflict, passing the measure by a slim majority.
The cost is staggering. The Congressional Budget Office said the conflict has already consumed nearly $40 billion and continues to burn through roughly $100 million every day.
The Human Cost
The human cost is more visceral. On the first day, a strike on a school in Minab reduced classrooms to rubble and killed 156 people, most of them children. Last month, on September 1, a U.S. strike hit a home during a wedding celebration in Kuhestak, turning a party into a recovery operation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said reports of depleted stockpiles are not true. Donald Trump claimed the U.S. has more munitions than any other nation. But the CBO said the truck-mounted Patriot interceptors and high-altitude Thaad shields—the primary defenses against incoming missiles—are so depleted that rebuilding them would take at least five years of production.
The U.S. prioritizes showing strength over maintaining security. This mirrors the 2007-2011 War in Afghanistan, where the desire to win outweighed the plan to leave. Then, as now, the decision-makers in Washington did not count the casualties or pay the inflated pump price for gas in the towns that actually support the war effort.
Can Congress Stop the War?
The House is using the War Powers Resolution to force a withdrawal. Passed in 1973, this law requires the president to seek congressional approval before committing troops to combat and mandates a withdrawal within 60 days unless Congress formally authorizes the mission. It is the primary tool the legislative branch uses to prevent the executive from acting as a one-man war council, ensuring that the power to initiate conflict remains a shared responsibility.
Rep. Brian Mast said Donald Trump is fighting against "forever wars" by aggressively ending this one. He argued that a decisive strike is the only way to ensure long-term peace.
Rep. Seth Moulton said the war should have lasted a few weeks. Six months later, the conflict has claimed nearly 800 casualties, including dead and wounded service members. Meanwhile, defense contractors are billing the government for a multi-billion dollar supplemental request to replenish spent munitions, a bill that The Guardian said will likely languish until after the midterms.
The GOP Splits
The GOP is fracturing. Egypt Independent said Republican defections are growing as members weigh the cost of the conflict against party loyalty. Seven Republicans voted to end the war, including Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, and Nancy Mace. Rep. Nunn said he will not support another open-ended war, suggesting the strongman approach has become a liability.
The executive and legislative branches are now locked in a legal battle. Trump is ignoring the House, the Senate stalls under White House pressure, and the Pentagon requests more money to replace the interceptors it has already fired.
When a president treats the War Powers Resolution as a suggestion, he digs a deeper hole and increases the body count. This is not just about Iran; it is about whether the United States remains a republic governed by law or a brand managed by one man. If the House cannot force a withdrawal, Congress is surrendering its authority to the whims of the executive, leaving the nation's security to the discretion of a single office.