Sen. Jon Husted: Iran war ‘needs to come to an end as quickly as possible’

Sen. Jon Husted: Iran war ‘needs to come to an end as quickly as possible’ - POLITICO

Skip to Main Content

* + Europe
+ Pro
+ AgencyIQ

Press Escape to close the menu.

WASHINGTON & POLITICS

WASHINGTON & POLITICS 6 items

* 1st itemCongress
* 2nd itemWhite House
* 3rd itemSupreme Court and Legal Issues
* 4th itemMagazine
* 5th item2026 Elections
* 6th itemLatest on POLITICO

STATE POLITICS & POLICY

STATE POLITICS & POLICY 4 items

* 1st itemCalifornia
* 2nd itemFlorida
* 3rd itemNew Jersey
* 4th itemNew York

GLOBAL POLITICS & POLICY

GLOBAL POLITICS & POLICY 6 items

* 1st itemBrussels
* 2nd itemCanada
* 3rd itemUnited Kingdom
* 4th itemFrance
* 5th itemGermany
* 6th itemAustralia

POLICY NEWS

POLICY NEWS 11 items

* 1st itemFood and Agriculture
* 2nd itemCybersecurity
* 3rd itemDefense
* 4th itemEducation
* 5th itemEnergy and Climate
* 6th itemTax, Finance and the Economy
* 7th itemHealth Care
* 8th itemLabor
* 9th itemTech
* 10th itemTrade
* 11th itemTransportation

NEWSLETTERS

NEWSLETTERS 6 items

* 1st itemPlaybook
* 2nd itemWest Wing Playbook
* 3rd itemInside Congress
* 4th itemPOLITICO Forecast
* 5th itemPOLITICO Magazine
* 6th itemAll Newsletters

COLUMNISTS

COLUMNISTS 7 items

* 1st itemAlex Burns
* 2nd itemVictoria Guida
* 3rd itemJohn Harris
* 4th itemDebra Kahn
* 5th itemJonathan Martin
* 6th itemNahal Toosi
* 7th itemAll Columnists

SERIES & MORE

SERIES & MORE 7 items

* 1st itemInside Congress Live
* 2nd itemBreaking News Alerts
* 3rd itemPodcasts
* 4th itemVideo
* 5th itemMatt Wuerker Cartoons
* 6th itemCartoon Carousel
* 7th itemThe POLITICO Poll

POLITICO Live

POLITICO Live 1 item

* 1st itemEvents

Follow us

* X
* Instagram
* Facebook
* LinkedIn

* My Account
* Log In

EXCLUSIVE

Sen. Jon Husted: Iran war ‘needs to come to an end as quickly as possible’

His comments follow Senate candidates Ashley Hinson and Mike Rogers breaking from Trump on the conflict, as GOP panic grows over high prices.

!Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

*Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP*

By Ali Bianco, Meredith Lee Hill and Erin Doherty

09/22/2026 10:48 PM GMT+1

Add POLITICO on Google

Sen. Jon Husted became the latest battleground Republican this week to call for a quick end to the Iran war, as panic grows over how high gas prices and President Donald Trump’s agenda could imperil the party’s chances in November.

“The war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so that we can lower gas prices,” the Ohio senator told POLITICO, in his furthest comments yet on the matter.

Coming after Iowa Senate nominee Ashley Hinson, who broke from Trump over the war on Monday, and Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who followed suit hours later, Husted’s comments are another example of the pressure he and other Republicans are under to address prices at the pump. Several candidates are creating some distance from Trump, as voters continue to blame the president for the current economy and the Iran conflict for high costs of living.

Husted said in the interview that he still thinks Iran needs to reach a deal with Trump to end the conflict, but added: “I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want the war to come to an end.”

He has a finer line to walk with Trump in his state, and Republicans close to him say he can’t and won’t completely break with the president. Husted does not plan to support the Democratic-led war powers resolution when it comes up for a vote in the Senate this week, a spokesperson said. And Trump and Vice President JD Vance are expected to visit the state in the coming weeks to shore up his campaign and drive GOP turnout.

Husted is staring down a tight race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, where millions in spending and recent polling have put Brown slightly ahead. Top Hill Republicans and Senate GOP operatives have said the Ohio Senate race is among their primary concerns in the battle to keep control of the chamber.

But Ohio is just one in a series of battlegrounds where rising gas prices have become a defining issue. Beyond Hinson and Rogers, a growing number of Republicans are starting to call for emergency actions like a diesel export ban to lower gas prices, including Iowa GOP Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

“Hinson broke the dam,” said one GOP operative, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who is locked in an incredibly competitive race, called Tuesday for a diesel export ban to provide voters relief. He didn’t mention the Iran war.

The panic is being felt most acutely in the Midwest, as high gas and diesel prices and Trump’s tariffs hammer families, truckers and farmers just a few weeks ahead of the peak harvest season with no relief in sight.

By Sunday night, Rogers had filmed an ad at a grocery store decrying high prices and, straight to camera, breaking with Trump to call for an end to the Iran war, according to two Republicans involved in the matter, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

Rogers’ team was putting the finishing touches on the ad Monday morning when Hinson posted her break with Trump over the war directly on social media.

“The war’s just gone on too long. Mike still thinks Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, but we originally thought this would take six weeks,” said one person with direct knowledge of the conversations in Rogers’ camp about the move. “Voters have been paying for it at their kitchen tables for too long.”

Michigan’s GOP nominee for governor, Rep. John James, also said Tuesday the Iran war needs to end “quickly.” And Rep. Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin’s GOP governor nominee, said Tuesday he believes “we should be exiting Iran, that it’s time to move on, we’ve degraded their nuclear facilities, we’ve degraded their military … time to come home, take care of business here in America.”

Trump, for his part, told reporters Tuesday that he asked his team to consider a diesel export ban, and that his administration is mulling it.

But the move is rife with internal GOP fighting behind the scenes: Trump’s team is getting an earful from GOP lawmakers in oil states who oppose the move, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. That makes any decision before the midterms highly problematic with at least one corner of the party.

Both the top House GOP leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise — have opposed similar measures from the past to protect their oil state of Louisiana. The Texas GOP delegation is also “strongly opposed,” according to another Republican.

Husted told POLITICO on Tuesday that he supports his state legislature suspending Ohio’s gas tax for a period. Democrat Amy Acton, who is running for governor, called for a gas tax suspension Monday. Her GOP opponent Vivek Ramaswamy and a broader swath of Republicans called for the state legislature to convene and pass legislation to suspend the state’s gas tax hours later.

“I think in the long run we are going to have lower gas prices,” Husted said, citing the war in Ukraine as a factor for spiking diesel costs as well as the war with Iran. “It’s taking longer than any of us wish it would. So in the interim, while those things are concluding, the idea of providing relief from the gas tax for Ohioans for a short period of time is a reasonable thing for Governor \[Mike] DeWine to consider.”

Watch: The Conversation

Bill Cassidy on vaccines, RFK Jr. and the fight for public trust

* 2026 Elections
* Sherrod Brown
* Ohio

POLITICO Forecast

Global power is in flux. Your daily guide to what comes next.

* About Us
* Advertising
* Breaking News Alerts
* Careers
* Credit Card Payments
* FAQ
* Feedback
* Headlines
* Photos
* Press
* Request A Correction
* Write