Congressional Research Service
Nonpartisan research arm of the US Congress.
Profile text here is limited to what the cited stories establish; this is not a biography.
Stories 4
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Defense and Security
Operation Epic Fury: a war of choice launched days before a deal, still unfinished eight months and $43.6 billion later
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, two days after Oman said a deal was near; eight months on Hormuz is contested, 21 US troops are dead, the bill is $43.6 billion, Iran's uranium is unaccounted for and no deal exists.
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Government and Oversight
A war Congress never authorized: three House votes, one Senate vote reversed overnight after Trump called a senator a 'lunatic'
Congress holds the war power. The Iran war began with no vote, a notice that ignored the War Powers Resolution and no briefing for six weeks; the House voted three times to end it and the Senate once, until Republicans flipped.
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Defense and Security
Seizing a head of state without telling Congress: Operation Absolute Resolve, 75 dead, and a $4.7 billion bill
On January 3, 2026, 200 US special operators and 150 aircraft seized Nicolás Maduro in Caracas; about 75 people died, Congress was told afterward, a secret memo said no law bound the president, and Trump said the US would 'run' Venezuela.
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Defense and Security
Everyone said this would happen: 50 years of warnings that Iran would close Hormuz and that bombs alone could not end its program
The Shah said Iran could close Hormuz in 1972; Iran threatened it in 1983, 1984, 2011, 2018 and 2025; a 2012 bipartisan study said strikes buy four years at most and invite retaliation at the strait. By September 2026 the US was losing.