Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., speaks before Vice President JD Vance at Pointe Precision in Plover, Wis., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Pool)

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) has already backtracked some of his support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran.

Hours after Trump announced the war last Saturday morning, Van Orden originally gave his full-throated support for the unprovoked conflict.

“For decades, the Iranian regime has fueled terror and violence across the world,” Van Orden told the Washington Reporter. “This regime has operated with impunity for far too long, spreading chaos while threatening the security of the United States and our partners. Their hands are stained with the blood of thousands of Americans.”

The staunch Trump ally also said Iranian leadership needs to be “held accountable.”

“It is long past time for the Iranian regime to be held accountable for the terror it has exported and the lives it has taken,” Van Orden continued. “May God bless our troops and grant them strength, wisdom, and courage.”

Just two days later, after reports surfaced that four American soldiers had already been killed in the conflict (that death toll later rose to six), Van Orden changed his tune and said that he does not support American boots on the ground in Iran.

“These types of operations, they’re still very dangerous. Don’t get me wrong. And I respect our airmen and all of our sailors out there getting this done,” Van Orden told reporters on Monday. “But I don’t support boots on the ground, sustained ground combat operations like I did in Afghanistan and Iraq for two decades.”

When asked why Van Orden did not initially say he does not support American boots on the ground in Iran, Van Orden’s spokesperson Grace Kim told Heartland Signal that the congressman has been consistent in opposing American soldiers fighting on the ground while also supporting the air strikes. Van Orden also insisted that Iran needs new leadership. 

“When he says ‘boots on the ground,’ he means ground combat operations, which is different than the air strikes from this weekend,” Kim said in an emailed statement to Heartland Signal. “Iran has been at war with us for 47 years and are responsible for the death of thousands of American citizens and the stands [sic] by reaching the goal of a peaceful, stable Iran where the Persian people can live in prosperity and comfort with their families and as good neighbors in the Middle East.”

Last June, the Wisconsin congressman said he would not want to get involved with a new war and/or regime change conducted by the U.S. military or nation building.

“Do I want to get involved? Do I want to get involved in further war? Hell no,” Van Orden said on “The Sean Spicer Show” last June. “Sean, would I sign up for regime change, conducted by the United States military? Absolutely not. Do I sign up for nation building conducted by the United States military? Absolutely not.”

Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he “doesn’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.” Last Sunday, Trump also said there will “likely” be more American deaths by the end of the conflict. 

Van Orden has also defended Trump’s actions of going to war without congressional approval or oversight, saying he is “absolutely acting within his constitutional authority.”

Van Orden’s office declined to answer whether he would continue supporting Trump’s efforts in Iran if they escalate further. 

The case for war keeps changing

Republican leadership has offered inconsistent justifications for the war, which is also a stark contrast to Trump’s promise to keep America out of any new wars. On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration was made aware of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, implying that this information justified U.S. involvement.

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” Rubio said. “And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

Rubio also said the objective of the war is not regime change, but to ensure that Iran does not “have these weapons that can threaten us and our allies in the region.” 

Several Democrats, including Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), have argued there was no imminent threat to the United States from Iran and that it was a “war of choice” by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel,” Warner, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the media on Monday.

Trump also claimed that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were obliterated in the American airstrikes conducted last June, contradicting any current threat to the United States.

The Trump administration has also made conflicting statements on how long the war will last, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claiming this will “not be an endless war.” But on Wednesday, he said that the war is just beginning.

In addition to the six American casualties, with dozens more injured. U.S. embassies in several countries have also been attacked, while U.S. airstrikes have already killed more than 1,000 Iranians, including the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Center for American Progress estimates that the war has already cost the United States more than $5 billion. Gasoline prices are also spiking across Europe and the United States, with the war affecting oil and gas shipments.