Soldiers at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, July 22, 2026, carry Army First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, who died July 18, 2026, as a result of an enemy attack July 17, 2026, at Muwaffaq Salti Air Force Base, Jordan. (Photo by Jason Minto/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON – A day after President Donald Trump attended the repatriation of the remains of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran conflict, the two chambers of Congress were divided over whether to limit the president’s military powers in the months-long war.
While members of the US House of Representatives approved a War Powers Resolution 214-208When four Republicans joined all Democrats, lawmakers in the U.S. Senate narrowly rejected the measure 47-49although two senators who supported so far The measure was wrong.
Trump reignited the conflict earlier this month, breaking a 60-day ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran to end the war. Since then, the countries have been firing rockets at each other almost every day.
The latest deaths of US soldiers in the conflict bring the total to 18. Three service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a U.S. air base in Jordan on July 17 and 18, and a fourth was killed in a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone on a U.S. base in Iraq on July 19.
The dignified transfer, in which the remains of soldiers are transferred back to the USA from an aircraft coming from the operational area, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The soldiers were identified by the Pentagon as:
- Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii
- Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas
- Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York
- Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina
Gasoline prices are skyrocketing again
The economic fallout is also once again in focus, as Iran has cut off almost all traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil was transported before the war.
Oil prices hit over $100 a barrel on Thursday and AAA recorded a US gasoline price of $4.09 a gallon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who prefers the title “secretary of war,” told Senate representatives Tuesday that the war has cost so far $37.5 billion. The government has requested an additional $67 billion.
Republicans disagree
House Republicans who sided with Democrats to stop Trump’s military action in Iran included Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan.
In the Senate, Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom had voted “yes” on some or all of the dozen Iran war powers resolutions discussed so far during the conflict, did not vote.
A spokesman for Murkowski said the senator returned to Alaska on Wednesday for a family emergency. Paul’s office did not immediately respond to the reason for his absence.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who is in a tough re-election race, supported the measure on Thursday.
As with all previous votes to restrict the president’s war powers in Iran, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., opposed the resolution, which some say is not legal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in early May that the 1973 War Powers Resolution “unconstitutional.”
Congress overrode President Richard Nixon’s veto of the measure intended to curb his actions during the Vietnam War.
According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, 100 soldiers were deployed on Monday injured since July 7 and 96% have returned to work.
That of the department Defense accident analysis system identified only five injured during Operation Epic Fury in July and a total of 420 since the conflict began on February 28.
