Former Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin says it remains a mystery what war plan could produce an outcome that anyone but a "deluded, addled" president would call victory — and she is urging Democrats to stop Donald Trump from restarting the war with Iran.

Writing in The Contrarian, the independent outlet she co-founded after leaving The Washington Post, on the eve of the midterm elections, Rubin argued that if Democrats win even one chamber of Congress, their most urgent task will be heading off a new round of fighting. She described the war as illegal, reckless and fruitless. The vote will decide which party controls Congress for the remainder of Trump's term — the body she is counting on to exercise its constitutional checks over military action.

Trump, she wrote, has been "itching" to resume the conflict, driven by his belief that another brief round of military strikes would deliver the quick win he claimed many months ago. In her view, there is no evidence that further strikes would force Iran to disrupt the flow of goods through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman that carries a major share of the world's oil shipments — or topple the regime. Trump, however, keeps insisting that the United States has already won.

Rubin called it ominous that, according to news reports, Trump received an in-person briefing last week from top commanders on resuming active military operations, including the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political legacy is tied to the war, and that a joint operation becomes more likely if he secures another term.

Rubin cited Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who told the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, last week that he had been briefed in detail on the war plan. Murphy called the plan "insane," citing its inclusion of strikes on civilian targets, and warned that it would "lead to devastating escalation."

Murphy also accused the administration of a coordinated cover-up to hide the war's costs from the public and Congress, saying he was denied access to damaged bases. "This is the textbook illegal war," Murphy said, noting that the administration never sought authorization and that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which handles legislation on the use of military force, has held no hearing. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, presidents must notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing forces into hostilities, and operations cannot continue past 60 days without congressional authorization.

Rubin warned that renewed fighting would drain munitions that are already critically low, endanger troops stationed at bases in the region and kill more civilians. It would also cement America's image as a weakened power unable to defeat a regional middle power.

She advises Congress to vote to stop further offensive action, cut off funding — a tool rooted in lawmakers' constitutional power of the purse — and make clear that everyone involved — up to and including the president — will be held accountable through impeachment, war crimes prosecution or court-martial.

Even if Democrats lose party-line votes before the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, Rubin said, a unified stand could slow military action and give Gulf allies and military leaders reasons to push back. The sitting Congress remains fully seated until then, making any such votes a lame-duck test of the leverage she describes.

She added that mass peaceful protest may be needed, and that no Democrat seriously considering a 2028 presidential run — or any lawmaker — can afford to stay on the sidelines if they hope to win in the future.