The White House told Congress on Friday that hostilities with Iran have “terminated,” a declaration designed to sidestep the 60-day deadline for obtaining congressional authorization under the War Powers Resolution. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, President Donald Trump wrote that the conflict, which began with U.S. strikes on February 28, effectively ended when a shaky ceasefire took hold in early April — a claim administration officials are making even as the Navy continues to enforce a blockade to prevent Iranian oil tankers from leaving the Strait of Hormuz. The Senate had already adjourned for a week-long recess without taking up a vote, after defeating a Democratic resolution to halt the war for the sixth time.
Under the 1973 law, the president must receive congressional authorization within 60 days of introducing armed forces into hostilities. The Pentagon launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, making Friday the 60th day. But the White House argues the clock stopped. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a congressional hearing Thursday, “We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means, the 60-day clock pauses or stops.” Trump echoed that reasoning later Friday, saying other presidents had regarded the War Powers Resolution as unconstitutional and adding, “Every other president considered it totally unconstitutional, and we agree with that.” In his letter, Trump insisted that “the hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” while acknowledging that “the threat posed by Iran to the United States and our Armed Forces remains significant.”
The Republican-controlled Congress has shown little willingness to challenge the president. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters he had no plans to bring an authorization vote. “I’m listening carefully to what the members of our conference are saying, and at this point I don’t see that,” he said. Still, a growing number of GOP senators have signaled they want Congress to eventually weigh in. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted with Democrats to halt the war, saying the president’s authority “is not without limits” and that the 60-day deadline is “not a suggestion, it is a requirement.” Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said lawmakers “must ensure that the people, through their elected representatives, weigh in on whether to send our military into combat.” He added that if hostilities resume, he expects the White House to work with Congress on an authorization. Other Republicans, including Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri, have voiced similar sentiments. But Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution, saying “our founders created a really strong executive, like it or not like it.”
Democrats dismissed the administration’s legal argument. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote on social media, “There’s no pause button in the Constitution, or the War Powers Act. We’re at war. We’ve been at war for 60 days. The blockade alone is a continuing act of war.” Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told The Associated Press: “Is the expectation that the Trump administration is going to follow the law? I do not have that expectation.”