A growing number of Hill Republicans are frustrated with President Donald Trump’s ever-changing strategy in Iran, which they fear will cost them their majority in the fall. The president’s latest threat to seize a key Iranian oil hub has drawn sharp warnings from his party, with several key Republicans expressing deep discomfort with the president’s threat to deepen the conflict without a clear strategy.

Concerns Over Gas Prices and Inflation

With gas prices and inflation spiking, Republicans are worried that the war will become the defining issue of an already-tough midterm election. "I think people are really feeling it," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican. "It’s not just gas prices, food prices, and other things, and I think there’s a level of frustration. … So I think the pressure is for the president to reach a peace solution and move on."

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a centrist from New Jersey, stressed that he supports the ultimate goal of defanging Iran’s nuclear powers, but added, "Get it done. Get out. We need an exit strategy." Angst over the war has been spiking for weeks among Hill Republicans, with a growing chorus of lawmakers warning about the economic toll of the Iran war and calling for a swift end to the conflict.

Economic Toll and Midterm Concerns

Trump’s main response so far has been a push to temporarily freeze the federal gas tax, a measure widely panned by Republicans who say it amounts to little savings back home. GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas voiced concern about the party’s midterm message, saying, "The fact that we’re not talking about or focused on the things that most people care about at election time, kitchen table issues, I think, is a problem."

Several top lawmakers, including the House GOP’s top spending leader, Rep. Tom Cole, have complained that they’ve been in the dark about how much the war will cost. Others have lamented that Trump has yet to lay out a convincing case to the American public — or to them personally. Some, like Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, are not ruling out backing a vote to formally authorize the conflict, against party leaders’ wishes, to assert Congress’ authority in the monthslong war.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.