Fact check: Mike Rogers, John James shift positions on Iran war

Statewide Republican candidates Mike Rogers and John James are calling for a quick end to the Iran war
Democratic rivals accuse them of flip-flopping
Both Rogers and James had supported the war. James voted against war powers resolutions to end the conflict

Michigan Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers and GOP gubernatorial candidate John James last week both called for a quick end to the Iran war, citing high prices and the “terrible” nature of warfare, respectively.

Democratic rivals accused Rogers and James of flip-flopping to try to win votes in the Nov. 3 election, saying both have long supported and, in the case of James, repeatedly voted against proposals to end the war in the US House.

Public comments and congressional records reviewed by Bridge Michigan show Rogers and James previously backed the war, which President Donald Trump has said was necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The war has dragged on far longer than expected. On March 1, a day after US military forces began bombing Iran, Trump said the conflict would last four to five weeks. Since then, he’s declared victory several times, but multiple ceasefire agreements with Iran have fallen apart.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping lane for oil and products like fertilizer, was shut down by Iran at the beginning of the war, which led to cost spikes for diesel and fertilizer.

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Amid high prices, James and Rogers recently began advocating for temporary suspension of federal and state gas taxes.

Politicians’ views can and often do evolve, especially as full ramifications of policies become more clear. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jocelyn Benson only recently joined calls for a data center moratorium. Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed previously called to defund the police but no longer supports that position.

Statements regarding support for the Iran war are among many fact-check stories Bridge Michigan is running ahead of the Nov. 3 election, including claims about Benson’s record in election lawsuits and possible tax hikes under El-Sayed’s Medicare for All plan.

Rogers on the war

In a Sept. 21 social media video that featured Rogers shopping at a grocery store, he said, “The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly.” The accompanying text read: “The war in Iran needs to end to bring costs down.” Rogers advocated for a temporary embargo on diesel exports.

Democratic US Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed called it a “flip-flop,” arguing Rogers had been “100% aligned with Donald Trump on the war in the first place.”

What does the record show?

The day the Iran war began, on Feb. 28, Rogers wrote on X, “Iran is an imminent threat to our country—and must not have a nuclear weapon.”
About a month later, at a March 17 campaign event at Oakland University, Rogers reportedly downplayed spiking gas prices linked to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, telling an attendee that “we’ve got plenty of oil.”
On May 31, Rogers called the war a “win-win-win,” saying that if Iran emerged as a peaceful nation, the US would no longer have to send military aid to Israel. But “I want it over,” he added, saying that preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon “obviously … brought some costs that are hard to live with.”
In a July 31 interview with CBS Detroit, Rogers was asked if Congress should authorize the president to continue the war. He replied: “I don’t mind giving the president authority to continue, you can’t stop in mid-negotiation, I think that would not be good for America, but I want him to wrap it up and my understanding is he’s doing just that.”

Rogers’ more recent statements about ending the Iran war came as gas prices were approaching $5 per gallon in Michigan. They’ve fallen some since, to an average of $4.57 as of Sept. 30, according to AAA data. Prior to the war, gas in Michigan was $3.00 per gallon.

When reached for comment, the Rogers campaign referred Bridge to a press conference last week in which Rogers said diesel prices that have topped $6 will take “a horrific toll” on farmers and increase grocery prices.

“My argument is you just can’t let this go and linger,” he said. Now’s the time to start winding this thing up.”

Rogers campaign spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet did not answer Bridge’s question on how Rogers would help end the war if elected to the US Senate.

James on the war

James last week said “we need to end this war quickly because war is terrible and no one likes war.”

In a press conference, he said he’s been consistent, as he also said in a statement to Bridge: “My position has always been, I hate war. I’m a combat veteran who’s been over at war. Iran cannot have a nuke, but I’ve always said that we need to use every resource at our disposal to bring this war to an end quickly. Nobody wants war, least of all our veterans.”

Democrat gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson responded by saying James “could’ve voted to end the war in Iran that has driven gas up to $5.”

Like Rogers, James has a history of public support for the Iran war:

On Feb. 28, the day the war began, James said on social media that Iran’s “decades of terror … must be answered for.” He did not mention nuclear weapons and criticized those “hating on Trump right now,” saying only the president “had the balls” to “assure the survival and success of liberty.”
On March 26, James wrote on social media, “When President Trump says Peace through Strength he means it. Iran found that out.”
As recently as Sept. 15, James voted against a House resolution to end the war in Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes a declaration of war. It was his sixth vote against war powers resolutions since the Iran war began.
The latest resolution, which James opposed, directed Trump “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran, other than those elements of the Armed Forces that may be necessary to defend the United States or an ally or partner of the United States from imminent attack.”

Last week, as he called for a quick end to the war, James also joined calls for the state and federal government to suspend gas taxes. A federal holiday would likely require congressional approval, but James and other members of the US House are not expected to return to Washington for votes until after the Nov. 3 election.

Bottom line

James and Rogers both supported Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, and James voted against war powers resolutions directing the president to end the conflict. With the cost of gas and groceries remaining high, both have more recently called for a quick end to the war.