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Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young said Thursday it was “time to wrap it as quickly as we can” regarding the war in Iran.
Speaking at Semafor World Economy, Young, who has at times bucked the Trump administration on foreign policy, said it was still important to win the war, which he defined as reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing Iran’s supply of uranium.
Looming over many lawmakers too is the approaching 60-day threshold for congressional authorization for military force outlined in the War Powers Act. Young said he’d “prefer not to wait until the very end to get clarity as to what comes next.”
The 60-day mark, he said, would be an “opportunity for us to articulate any concerns with the plan and tradeoffs and related things.” He added he would be willing to work with the Trump administration if formal congressional authorization were required for the war.
And when the Trump administration came to Congress to fund the war, Young said the “large round numbers” would still receive scrutiny from the legislative branch, and prior to taking a vote on a funding package, lawmakers would use their leverage over the administration.
“I think there will be some of our members who will insist on prior to any vote on a supplemental, resolving this issue around future plans or maybe even a formal authorization,” he said.
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Young, who didn’t endorse Trump during the 2024 primary, said he now had a “really positive” relationship with the president — and his skepticism of Trump earned him respect at times.
“The president has a certain respect — maybe sometimes a grudging respect — but a certain respect for people who don’t bend the knee consistently, who articulate uncomfortable truths, because there aren’t many around him, and I think people underestimate how the president respects that,” he said.