Since U.S. strikes on Qeshm Island and Iran's retaliatory fire earlier this week, the three-month-old Iran War has entered its most politically chaotic stretch yet — and Wednesday's House vote just made it official.

The House Voted. Now What?

The House passed a war powers resolution on Wednesday designed to force President Trump to end the Iran War, according to The Hill. The vote marks the first formal legislative rebuke of the conflict, which the administration launched in late February without a congressional authorization for use of military force.

The Senate is the next hurdle. Given that reconciliation legislation funding immigration agencies passed 53-46 along party lines the same day, it is unclear whether enough Republican senators will break ranks to push a war powers resolution through.

Rubio Said the War Is 'Over.' The Bombs Disagree.

One day before the House vote, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before a Senate budget hearing and, in the middle of an exchange with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), declared flatly: "Well, the war is over."

The U.S. military conducted strikes in the Middle East that same week.

According to Reason, the war has already cost Americans an estimated $100 billion — between military spending and increased oil costs — per a recent Moody's estimate. The Strait of Hormuz remains functionally closed. Rubio himself told Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that reopening the strait is the "predicate that opens the door to phase two" of negotiations, which could take up to 90 days. Phase two would then address Iran's uranium enrichment program.

So by Rubio's own math: the strait isn't open, phase one isn't done, phase two hasn't started, and the war is "over." Someone needs to explain that to the pilots still flying sorties.

The Strangest Coalition in Washington

The biggest obstacle to a peace deal right now isn't Iran. It's a bipartisan coalition of hawks in Washington.

On the Republican side, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — the moment a deal was floated on May 24 — demanded Trump "take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region," according to Reason. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called a potential deal a "nightmare for Israel" that same day. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) warned Trump not to "finish the job he started." At least these guys are honest: they want the war to continue.

Then there are the Democrats. Sen. Cory Booker, who in March called the war "outrageous" and an unconstitutional overreach, flipped to telling Rubio on Tuesday that Iran would get "money to rebuild, purchase more drones, cause more havoc" through any ceasefire deal, per Reason. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) accused Trump of trying to "cave to Iran just for political convenience" in an interview with Jewish Insider published Wednesday.

Fetterman's opposition stands in stark contrast to his party's simultaneous passage of a resolution to end the war.

Trump Is Being Moved by the Critics

The pressure appears to be working on Trump. According to Reason, Trump said on May 23 that the peace agreement was "largely negotiated." Then the hawks pounced. Then Trump sent the memorandum of understanding back to Iran with new, "tougher terms," according to officials who spoke to The New York Times last week.

The Atlantic reported that Trump has been particularly sensitive about comparisons to Barack Obama's Iran diplomacy. That's a vulnerability his critics — on both sides — are actively exploiting.

The framework for a deal is straightforward. Iran and the U.S. lift mutual blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. Then both sides negotiate a permanent deal: Iran surrenders or severely limits its nuclear program, the U.S. lifts economic sanctions. The core obstacle, per Reason, is trust — specifically, each side's fear that the other will walk away after getting what it wants in the first stage.

What the Media Is Missing

Left-leaning outlets are covering the House war powers vote as a Democratic victory and constitutional triumph. But they're overlooking the fact that prominent Democrats — Booker, Fetterman — are actively undermining the very peace negotiations that would end the conflict their party claims to oppose.

Right-leaning coverage is framing Rubio's hearing performance as steady and principled. Rubio claimed a war is "over" while strikes continue, offered no credible timeline for opening the Strait of Hormuz, and couldn't answer basic questions about what Americans are getting for $100 billion spent.

Neither side is being straight with you.

The Road Ahead

The Strait of Hormuz stays closed until at minimum phase one negotiations conclude — which Rubio says hasn't happened yet. Oil prices stay elevated. The $100 billion estimate from Moody's keeps climbing every week this drags on.

The House just voted to end the war. The Senate probably won't follow. The administration says the war is over while still fighting it. And the peace deal keeps getting sabotaged by politicians on both sides who'd rather score points than stop the bleeding.

Regular Americans are paying the tab. Nobody in that hearing room is.