Iowa Republicans Nunn and Miller-Meeks flip vote to halt Iran war

Two Iowa Republicans in battleground House districts, including one who recently campaigned alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, changed their position on an Iran war powers resolution. U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted for the resolution on Tuesday after previously voting against it, joining Democrats and a few other dissident members of their party in an attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’ approval.

The shift reflects political pressure on Republicans before the November elections that will decide control of Congress. The war remains unpopular and has led to rising fuel prices.

“With the negotiating window closed, sustained combat operations now require congressional authorization,” Nunn, an Air Force veteran, posted on social media. “I will not support another open-ended war.”

Nunn campaigned with Hegseth last month in Iowa, and the Pentagon chief had lauded Nunn as an ally who didn’t need late-night phone calls from Trump to support the president’s agenda.

“Zach Nunn is not a 3 a.m. congressman,” Hegseth said at a fundraiser for Nunn during the Iowa State Fair. “He’s willing to take the tough votes to do the right thing on behalf of our war fighters.”

Nunn is up against Sarah Trone Garriott in November’s election.

Miller-Meeks, an Army veteran, said in a statement the president needs to present a plan to Congress and the public showing how the war ends so “we can focus on bringing our soldiers home and lowering prices.”

“Americans do not want another forever war,” she said. “I will not vote to keep our soldiers in an open-ended war, with Iowans paying too much at the pump.”

She faces a reelection rematch against Christina Bohannan, whom she has defeated twice before.

Both Republicans have advocated for Trump’s actions in Iran as a deterrent against that country’s nuclear capabilities. Eighteen U.S. service members have died in the war with Iran. Two are from Iowa, and one used to live in Iowa.

The price of diesel is reaching new highs as U.S. farmers prepare to take diesel-fueled equipment to the fields for harvest.

National polling indicates the Iran war remains unpopular. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of Iran in a July AP-NORC poll, and a September New York Times/Siena poll found that about 6 in 10 likely voters think Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong one.

Tuesday’s House vote was the third time lawmakers voted to end the war in Iran. The margin was similar to earlier efforts.

Retiring U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina also shifted her position on the resolution. They joined Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who had already been voting in favor.

Barrett and Fitzpatrick are seeking reelection in battleground districts, while Davidson represents a seat Trump won handily in 2024.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who represents northeast Iowa but is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, voted against the resolution. Endorsed by Trump, Hinson faces Democrat Josh Turek for the seat, which Republicans are spending millions of dollars to defend.

Hinson acknowledged that she and other Americans want to see the war end. That means delivering a “decisive and immediate victory,” she said.

“I believe President Trump should immediately bring this war to a successful end in a way that keeps Americans safe from the threat of a nuclear armed Iran,” Hinson said in a statement.

Democrats targeting House and Senate seats in Iowa have criticized the Republican incumbents for their votes on the war in Iran as a rubber stamp for Trump. Republicans say Iowa, where Trump won overwhelmingly in the last three presidential elections, remains a red state that will help keep Republican majorities in both chambers.

Trump visited suburbs of Des Moines for a rally in January and dispatched Vice President JD Vance in May to campaign for Nunn.

Republicans continue to outnumber Democrats in both Nunn’s and Miller-Meeks’ districts, but the races have been among the closest in the country.

Miller-Meeks of southeastern Iowa was reelected in 2024 with less than a percentage point advantage, fewer than 1,000 votes, over Bohannan. Nunn, who represents Des Moines and its surrounding suburban and rural counties, won in 2022 by unseating a Democrat who was elected during Trump’s first midterms.

After Hegseth campaigned with Nunn, a group of over 400 former national security officials filed a complaint asking for an investigation into whether the secretary violated the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities by federal officials. Hegseth’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.