As chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee , Hyde was involved in some of the highest level debates concerning the response to the September 11 attacks in 2001 . In the aftermath of the September 11 , 2001 attacks , Hyde cautioned against attacking Iraq in the absence of clear evidence of Iraqi complicity , telling CNN 's Robert Novak that it " would be a big mistake . " One year later , however , he voted in support of the October 10 , 2002 House resolution that authorized the president to go to war with Iraq . In response to Rep. Ron Paul 's resolution requesting a formal declaration of war , Hyde stated : " There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events , by time . Declaration of war is one of them . ... Inappropriate , anachronistic , it is n't done anymore . " In 2006 , Hyde made the following observation in regard to the Bush Administration 's proclaimed objective of promoting democracy in the Middle East : Hyde was reelected 15 times with no substantive opposition . This was mainly because , over time , his district was pushed further into DuPage County , a longstanding bastion of suburban Republicanism . However , by the turn of the century , the demographics of his district shifted , leading his 2004 Democratic challenger Christine Cegelis to garner over 44 % of the vote — Hyde 's closest race since his initial run for the seat . On April 18 , 2005 ( his 81st birthday ) , Hyde announced on his website that he would retire at the expiration of his term ( in January 2007 ) . A few days earlier , it had been reported that Illinois Republicans were expecting this announcement , and it was further reported that Illinois State Senator Peter Roskam had emerged as a leading contender for the Republican Party 's nomination . In August 2005 , Hyde endorsed Roskam as his successor
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Henry Hyde