Ohio Senator Jon Husted voted 13 times against Senate measures to end United States military action against Iran that Congress never authorized, from a June 27, 2025 vote after the first strikes through a September 24, 2026 vote that failed 49 to 50. Four of those measures failed by a single vote, so his vote alone would have changed each result. The war that began on February 28, 2026 has killed at least 21 service members and wounded 865.
Husted also cast one of the 50 votes that confirmed Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, who then ran the war. On the day it began, Husted posted that the President "took action to address the threat Iran poses," and his office then declined to answer questions about it. Three airmen of the Ohio Air National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker died in a refueling plane crash in Iraq, and gasoline in Ohio rose by more than half in the war's first six months.
Jon Husted's Votes and Statements on the Iran War
- Husted Voted 12 Times in 2026 Against Ending the War With Iran. From March 4 to September 24, 2026, Jon Husted voted no 12 times on Senate measures directing the President to remove forces from hostilities with Iran that Congress had not authorized: on March 4, March 18, March 24, April 15, April 22, April 30, May 13, June 16, June 24, July 23, July 30 and September 24. The May 13, July 30 and September 24 measures each failed 49 to 50 and the June 16 measure failed 47 to 48, so a yes vote from Husted would have advanced each one. On June 24 the Senate voted 47 to 50 against taking up S.J.Res. 185, the one Iran resolution it had discharged from committee. Most of the war's 865 wounded were hurt after July 7, when fighting restarted, and about 50,000 troops remain in the region; Hegseth has estimated they will remain until at least early 2027.
- Husted Voted Against Limiting Military Action Against Iran After the June 2025 Strikes. On June 27, 2025, six days after bombers struck three Iranian nuclear sites without Congressional approval, Husted voted no on bringing up Senator Tim Kaine's resolution to remove forces from hostilities against Iran that Congress had not authorized. It failed 47 to 53. The Defense Intelligence Agency's early assessment said the strikes likely only set it back by months; eight months later the United States launched a major strike on Iran with Israel.
- Husted Cast One of the 50 Votes That Confirmed Pete Hegseth, Who Ran the War. On January 24, 2025, Husted voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. The vote was 50 to 50 and the Vice President broke the tie, so Hegseth would not have been confirmed without Husted's vote. Husted also voted to confirm Stephen Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense and General Dan Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On the war's first day a military investigation preliminarily found the United States responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, using outdated data provided by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, and Iranian authorities said the attack killed at least 175 people, including scores of civilians. The Pentagon put the war's cost at $43.6 billion as of September 2026.
- Husted Voted to Confirm Kash Patel, Who Fired Iran Counterintelligence Staff Days Before the War. On February 20, 2025, Husted voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, and he was confirmed 51 to 49. Days before the war began, Patel fired a dozen agents and staff members from a counterintelligence unit that monitored threats from Iran, CNN reported, citing two sources, and officials worried that investigations of threats inside the country could be hampered by a mass exodus of national security experts.
- Husted Voted Against a Plan to Protect Consumers From Iran-War Price Increases in April 2026. On April 22, 2026, Husted voted no on waiving budget rules for Senator John Hickenlooper's amendment "to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to ensuring that consumers are protected from price increases associated with tariffs and the Iran war." It failed 47 to 51. By October 16 the national average for gasoline was $4.33 a gallon, or 45% above its prewar level, and Moody's economist Mark Zandi put the war's cost at about $2,000 per household, including $1,100 in higher energy prices, $540 in higher interest rates.
- Husted Praised the February 2026 Attack on Iran the Day It Began. On February 28, 2026, the day the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Husted posted on X: "Today, the President took action to address the threat Iran poses to America and global stability." At the time, polls taken so far find between 27% and 43% of Americans approve of the attacks, the Ohio Capital Journal reported. The war he praised has killed 21 service members and injured 865 as of the Pentagon's October 15, 2026 report.
- Husted's Office Would Not Say Whether He Supported the War or Whether Congress Was Consulted. On March 3, 2026, the Ohio Capital Journal asked Husted's office whether he supported the attack, whether Congress was properly consulted, what the goal should be and whether ground troops should be committed. The reply was that Husted would not have "additional comment until he's briefed". The next day Husted voted against the first 2026 war powers resolution.
What the Iran War Jon Husted Voted to Continue Has Cost Ohio
- Ohio airmen killed. Three airmen of the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus died when a refueling plane crashed in Iraq on March 12, 2026, among them Captain Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington and Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus. The third, Captain Seth Koval, 38, was from Indiana, according to the Defense Department list published by FOX 9.
- Gasoline. Regular gasoline in Ohio rose from $2.70 a gallon on February 18, 2026 to $4.12 on August 20, up 52.6 percent, according to AAA prices compiled by Visual Capitalist.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jon Husted on Iran war
What is Jon Husted's record on the Iran war under Trump?
Jon Husted voted 13 times against Senate measures to end military action against Iran that Congress never authorized, including four that failed by one vote, and he cast one of the 50 votes that confirmed Pete Hegseth, whose department ran the war. The war has killed 21 service members, three of them airmen from an Ohio Air National Guard unit, and cost the Pentagon $43.6 billion by September 2026. In Ohio, gasoline rose 52.6 percent in the war's first six months.
Did Jon Husted vote to let Congress stop the Iran war?
No. Jon Husted voted against every Senate war powers measure on Iran that came to a vote in 2026, including the June 24, 2026 vote against taking up the one Iran resolution the Senate had discharged from committee. The last of them, on September 24, failed 49 to 50, the Guardian reported, and Husted's yes vote would have passed it.
Did Jon Husted support the attack on Iran?
Jon Husted wrote on February 28, 2026 that "the President took action to address the threat Iran poses to America and global stability," and when the Ohio Capital Journal asked whether he supported the attack, he gave no further answer until he was briefed. He then voted against all 12 war powers measures that followed, starting with the March 4 resolution.
Have Ohio service members died in the Iran war?
Yes. Jon Husted voted to confirm the defense secretary who ran the war, in which two Ohio airmen, Curtis Angst of Wilmington and Tyler Simmons of Columbus, died with a third member of their Rickenbacker unit in a March 12, 2026 refueling plane crash in Iraq. Across the war, 21 service members have died as of the Pentagon's October 15, 2026 report.
Last updated: 2026-10-25