WASHINGTON — A decorated combat veteran who led paratroopers into Iraq has put a blunt message to the White House on the seventh month of the war with Iran: the American people want it finished, not expanded. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Thursday that he is working to make that happen.
Crow posted the statement on X at 5:41 PM on October 1, 2026. It read in full:
“Americans do not want this war with Iran to “go further.”
They want it over.
I’m fighting to end it.”
The post linked to TIME’s transcript of an interview President Donald Trump gave at the White House on September 28. The interview was conducted by TIME Senior Political Correspondent Eric Cortellessa and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, and the transcript covers the war with Iran, the economy, the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court and the midterm elections.
What Trump Told TIME About the War’s Length
Cortellessa pressed the president on the timeline directly. “You initially said that the war would take about six to eight weeks. We’re now entering the seventh month. Can you just explain, like, why is it taking so long?” Trump answered: “Only because I wanted to go further. I took them out. I could have stopped then, but I wanted to go further.”
Trump said he had met his original timeline and then chose to extend operations. “When I said I was going to be there for a short period of time, I was, and then I decided I wanted to go further than that because I didn’t want to have them come back in some different form,” he said. Asked whether Americans had misunderstood the timeline, Trump blamed the press and pointed to earlier wars: “No, I think the press fed it to them, so that—look, we were in Vietnam for 21, 20, years. We were in Afghanistan for many years.”
Trump Declines to Rule Out Escalation
The president did not rule out stepping up military pressure. Asked whether he would “ramp up bombing after the midterms,” Trump said, “I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” He added, “We have a lot of weapons. You know, we’ve been stocking up for the last six months.”
Asked about the weekend rejection of an Iranian ceasefire proposal, Trump said the offer to open the Strait of Hormuz was “not good enough.” Asked about his recent comment that he might “annihilate” Iran, he replied, “Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible.” On munitions, Trump dismissed a Department of Defense report on shortages as “mostly fake news,” and said resupply would cost “less than we make in Venezuela for one month.”
The Economic Pressure Behind Crow’s Message
Crow’s post reflects an argument he has pressed since the first day of the war: that its costs fall on working families. In the TIME interview, a reporter told Trump that gas costs “$4.50” and mortgages sit near 7%. Trump said that “as soon as I make a deal, oil prices will drop to what they were,” and said the Federal Reserve’s rate increases were driven by “Trump derangement syndrome.”
An April Ipsos poll found that 71% of Americans said the United States should not be involved in Iran.
Crow’s Record: From Day One of the War
Crow’s office released a statement on February 28, 2026, the day the administration announced “major military operations.” He called it “a war of choice with no clear end game, no authorization from Congress, and little support from Americans.” He added: “I went to war three times for this country and learned that when elites in Washington bang the war drums, working class folks pay the price… Americans want us out of the regime change business.”
On April 7, after Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” Crow called for Congress to reconvene immediately. “Calling for the elimination of an entire civilization and threatening to blow up civilian bridges and power plants are war crimes that cannot be ignored,” he said. “Speaker Johnson must bring Congress back to Washington immediately so we can vote to end Trump’s war with Iran and prevent war crimes.”
Votes, Funding Fights and the Push to End the War
After House Republicans voted down a War Powers Resolution on April 16, Crow called the outcome “a disgrace.” In that statement he said, “Gas prices are through the roof, thirteen servicemembers have been killed, the regime in Iran is even more extreme than it was before.” He added: “Congress must do its job and end this war immediately.”
On May 6, Crow introduced the No Funds for Iran War Act, which would bar federal money for the conflict. “I won’t vote for a dime to continue this illegal war with Iran. It’s clear that President Trump has no endgame and no strategy,” he said. His office noted that the administration had initially sought $200 billion for the war alongside a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request.
The House approved a war powers measure again on July 23, by a vote of 214-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats. Crow’s office said the resolution was his, together with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Ahead of the vote, he said, “Americans are done with endless conflict in the Middle East.” Afterward, he told reporters that “the main goal is we want to end this war, stop spending this money, stop putting our servicemembers’ lives at risk.”
The Six-Month Mark and Demands for a Full Accounting
On August 24, Crow led a letter to Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, joined by fellow National Security Task Force co-chairs Rep. Derek Tran (D-CA) and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and 45 other House Democrats. The letter demanded a public accounting of the war’s costs by September 11. It stated that the conflict “has lasted for over 150 days, cost over $37 billion, and claimed the lives of 18 servicemembers.” It noted that Hegseth testified to a $37.5 billion estimate, that independent estimates exceed $100 billion, and that the administration is seeking an $88 billion supplemental request.
On August 28, marking six months of fighting, Crow said: “Six months ago, Donald Trump launched a reckless war of choice with Iran, with no plan, no strategy, and no endgame.” He continued: “Working families can’t afford gas, groceries, and housing. The Iran war has raised prices. We have to stop the madness and end the endless cycle of conflict.”
A Third House Vote and Growing Republican Defections
On September 15, the House passed a third war powers resolution, 220-204, with seven Republicans in support: Thomas Massie (KY), Tom Barrett (MI), Warren Davidson (OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Nancy Mace (SC), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA) and Zach Nunn (IA). That was three more than backed the earlier measures. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) described the measure as his; Crow’s office also called it his and said it was the second time he had forced a vote on such a resolution. The Washington Examiner reported that Crow said Democrats would force “vote after vote after vote.”
After the vote, Crow said: “Six months into a war that Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and JD Vance said would last six weeks, there’s no end in sight.” He added: “The American people are over it. They want their taxpayer dollars going toward cheaper healthcare and better schools at home, not forever wars abroad,” and “I won’t stop fighting for accountability and for Congress to rein in this President and his failed military adventurism.”
Who Is Jason Crow
Crow served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a paratrooper and Army Ranger with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment, and received the Bronze Star for his leadership in Iraq. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and co-chairs House Democrats’ National Security Task Force. In mid-September he gave keynote remarks at New America and the Center for American Progress on ending forever wars, and on September 18 he introduced the Honoring the Sacrifice of Troops in War Act. The bill would prevent the Defense Secretary from manipulating troop casualty data.
What Comes Next
With the House having passed three war powers measures and the Senate falling short at 47-49 in July, the question is whether the votes change anything on the ground. The measures were concurrent resolutions, which are nonbinding. Trump has not signaled a change of course, and in the TIME interview he said he chose to “go further” than his original timeline and did not rule out more bombing. The November midterm elections, with the war and prices at the center of the debate, are likely to shape how far Congress is willing to push.