Recommendations of the Editorial team
With the Iran War entering its fourth month, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to end the conflict – four Republicans joined Democrats in their push against President Donald Trump.
The bipartisan vote, which passed the War Powers Resolution 215-208, is largely a symbolic act of Congress and is likely to be vetoed by Trump if it passes the full Congress. Still, the result signals resistance within the Republican Party and could put pressure on the president to change course in a military operation that he repeatedly describes as nearing its end.
“After repeated attempts to win over sycophants in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, House Democrats today successfully passed our War Powers Resolution – to stand up for the American people and hold Donald Trump accountable. Now it’s up to Senate Republicans to do the right thing,” said a statement from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his two deputies, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California.
War drives up prices
The deeply unpopular war against Iran has driven up gasoline prices and pushed inflation to a three-year high. In May, a senior Pentagon official said the US had spent $29 billion so far on the ongoing conflict – while its objectives remain unclear and vague after months of chaos.
Several polls show that Americans want an end to the war. Last month, a CNN poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe Trump’s economic policies have failed. At the same time, 65 percent said that Trump’s policies had “worsened the economic situation.”
And what does Trump think about people’s needs as the cost of living rises? When asked how much the financial crisis was driving him to make a deal with Iran – asked shortly before his departure for China a few weeks ago – Trump replied: “Not even in the slightest.” He added: “The only thing that matters when I talk about Iran is that they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
“I don’t think about the financial situation of Americans,” the president added.