 While he supported the first Gulf War in 1991, Leach voted against the authorization to use force against Iraq in 2002.Leach was one of only six House Republicans to vote against the resolution.Once the Congress committed to war, however, he held that it would be folly to assume it could be funded with tax cuts and therefore he was one of three Republican congressmen (alongside Michael Castle and Amo Houghton) to vote against the 2003 extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.