Washington, The third US service member died over the weekend. The White House says the war goes on. The Democrats say it has to stop.
The political argument over Trump’s war in Iran has entered a new phase. Not because the president changed his mind, he has not, but because the body bags keep coming and the public is starting to ask questions the administration does not want to answer.
The Pentagon identified First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, killed in an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan on Friday. A third soldier died Saturday in northern Iraq during what US Central Command called a “controlled detonation” of an unexploded Iranian drone. The remains of a possible fourth service member were found over the weekend in Jordan.
Total US military deaths since the war began on February 28 now stand at 17. More than 1,700 Iranian civilians are believed dead. The war has already cost Iran an estimated $270 billion in damage, roughly 57% of its GDP.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut put it bluntly: “For those of us who pay attention to the hour-to-hour pace of the Iran War, things are getting very dark very quickly. The scale of attacks, and threats of escalation, are increasing rapidly.”
He accused Trump of having “frighteningly lost control of this war.”
The deaths come as the US launched its 10th consecutive wave of strikes against Iranian targets. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the casualties with a statement that seemed designed to close off any second-guessing: “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
A war powers fight no one has settled
The constitutional question still hanging over all of this: does Trump have the authority to keep fighting?
The War Powers Resolution requires the president to end hostilities after 60 days unless Congress authorizes them. Both the House and Senate have passed resolutions requiring congressional approval. The White House argues the clock stopped when the April ceasefire took effect, even though that ceasefire collapsed weeks ago and the fighting never really stopped.
Democrats are not buying it. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who introduced one of the war powers resolutions, wrote: “This senseless war should never have been started and it needs to end NOW.”
Representative Ted Lieu of California called on Republicans to join: “We need Republicans to join us in passing the War Powers Resolution NOW.”
The numbers are on the Democrats’ side, but only up to a point. A Washington Post-Ipsos survey shows approval for Trump’s handling of the conflict at 29%. That is lower than the 33% who approve of his economic stewardship, which has been hammered by war-driven fuel prices.
The Republican wall holds, for now
So far, Republicans in Congress are not breaking ranks. Representative James Comer of Kentucky told Fox News: “I don’t think anyone would prefer that we have any type of military conflict in Iran, but that’s the world that we live in. We have to respond, and we have to respond swiftly and with full force, and that’s what President Trump’s doing.”
The New Mexico Republican Party accused Democrats of exploiting the deaths for political gain: “No matter how much Democrats try to politicize this, President Trump’s actions in Iran have made our country safer.”
But even among Republicans, there are cracks. Representative Riley Moore of West Virginia acknowledged the risk of regional destabilization: “Where do we go from here is also looking at how we’re going to work with those GCC partners in the region because this could tip over into a regional destabilizing conflict.”
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted that there are “hundreds of seriously wounded” US personnel and called it “remarkable” the casualty count was not higher. Then he delivered a line that cuts to the heart of the matter: “This is what happens when you start a war of choice. And as a member of the Gang of Eight, I can say unequivocally there was no imminent threat from Iran.”
The human arithmetic
Seventeen dead. Hundreds wounded. More than 1,700 Iranians dead. $270 billion in damage. A 29% approval rating.
And neither side in Washington is willing to say what comes next, only that the other side is wrong.
In a brief phone call with NewsNation, Trump called the deaths “a very sad thing” and said the soldiers died “in service of our country.” He did not say whether he planned to escalate or de-escalate. The 10th wave of US strikes was already underway.