Political Crisis in US Over War with Iran

The start of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran has caused divisions within the country itself. President Trump promised to lower energy prices, but he and his administration have increased costs for New Yorkers with illegal tariffs, and are now raising gasoline prices due to the war in Iran, the article argues. Additionally, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday introduced joint disapproval resolutions regarding several US arms sales to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Considering that Trump campaigned on lowering inflation and avoiding wars, his electoral outlook is not very promising, the article notes. Polls conducted since the first attacks on Iran last month suggest that the idea of sending ground troops is completely unacceptable to Americans in general. After that deadline, co-sponsors can force a simple majority vote in the full committee for the resolution to leave the committee. On the contrary, although US Vice President JD Vance guaranteed on Wednesday that Trump will not embark on an endless war in Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon will request an additional $200 billion from Congress to continue the conflict. Highlighted quotes: 'Trump is trapped in an unpopular war, trying to find a way out and seeing how to stop the rise in fuel prices.' 'The last thing US taxpayers should be doing right now is providing 2,000 new bombs to the government.' 'I cannot, in good conscience, support the war being fought in Iran. This is a war he promised he wouldn't do. It's a challenge to the entire American establishment about the perceived benefit of the liberal world order,' he added. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Donald Trump's government is studying emergency measures, such as unblocking Iranian crude and using its own reserves, to contain the escalation of oil and other commodity prices amid the prolonged armed conflict with Tehran. New York Governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, attacked the head of state over the rise in fuel prices. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful US lobby,' Kent wrote in a letter to the president, shared on his social media account X. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared before the US Senate on Wednesday to present the annual threat assessment, where she contradicted Trump by stating that Iran was not rebuilding its uranium enrichment capabilities after they were destroyed in a joint US-Israeli attack in the middle of last year. Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who led the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in Congress last year, stated in a social media post that foreign action cannot be used as a smokescreen to hide the revelations of the files. In the same vein, former MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who broke with Trump last year and resigned, also attacked the president for pursuing military objectives instead of adhering to his 'America First' principles. Not only are there members of the Democratic Party questioning President Donald Trump's bellicose actions, but also within the ruling Republican Party, there are fractures between those who support the president and figures who argue that the offensive in the Middle East is contrary to campaign promises not to get involved in foreign conflicts, and especially not for long periods. The most resonant case in recent days is that of former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, who on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Trump in protest of the war against Iran. The analyst recalled: 'Ford, Carter, and Bush Sr. lost elections after fuel price increases.' Federico Merke, associate professor of international relations at the University of San Andrés, explained to Página/12: 'Trump is trapped in an unpopular war in his country, trying to find a way out and seeing how to stop the rise in fuel prices, which is the channel with a direct impact on the population.' 'No more weapons to finance an illegal war,' he emphasized. The resolutions pertain to arms sales with a combined value of $658 million. 'Not once, but innumerable times,' he declared to the editor-in-chief of The Economist, Zanny Minton Beddoes, when asked if he believes the White House tenant has betrayed the 'America First' slogan. 'For what?' he questioned. Journalist Tucker Carlson is another conservative voice rejecting the current military conflict, indicating that it was something Trump promised would not happen, as he stated in an interview. The difference is that this unilateralism we are seeing now is against the system that the United States designed,' the academic detailed. The resignation thus made him the highest-ranking official to leave the Republican's government since the start of the offensive and opens an internal crisis in US intelligence services. A CNN poll conducted shortly after the start of the war showed Americans opposed sending ground troops by a margin of 5 to 1, that is, 60% to 2%. 'Another foreign war by foreigners for a foreign regime change.' 'Given the terrible destruction that Israel's extremist government has caused in Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon, the last thing US taxpayers should be doing right now is providing 2,000 new bombs to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,' Sanders stated in a press release. 'That unilateralism was seen as maintaining order.' Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Peter Welch of Vermont joined the initiative. Once presented, the resolutions are examined by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has five days. 'Not a single person was detained in the Epstein case and probably won't be, there is no accountability, no justice.' Similarly, a later Quinnipiac University poll, cited by that outlet, put the margin at almost 4 to 1 among registered voters: 74% – 20%. When asked if the United States is delegitimizing the international order it created—especially the United Nations system—by prioritizing unilateral decisions over international law, Merke stated that American unilateralism has been a constant since 1945 and that even its allies tolerated it in the name of system stability. Joe Kent, former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center. 'They are not isolated decisions.'