Ceasefire Halts Iran War Powers Clock as Congress Defers to Trump

The Trump administration entered Friday having formally notified Congress more than two months earlier of military action against Iran, yet it showed no intention of seeking legislative approval to continue. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators on Thursday that a ceasefire in place since early April has paused the 60-day countdown required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution. A senior administration official reinforced the position, telling multiple outlets that for purposes of the law the hostilities that began February 28 have terminated because no shots have been exchanged with Iran since April 7.

The statute, passed over President Richard Nixon’s veto in the aftermath of Vietnam, directs the president to terminate use of American forces within 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension. Notification to Congress on March 2 set the original deadline for Friday. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia challenged Hegseth’s interpretation directly during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “I do not believe the statute would support that,” Kaine said. “I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow, and it’s going to pose a really important legal question for the administration there.”

Despite repeated attempts by Democrats to invoke the War Powers Resolution and force an end to American involvement, the Senate rejected such a measure for the sixth time on Thursday, mostly along party lines. Two Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted with Democrats. The rest of the conference deferred to the White House. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he saw no appetite among his members for a vote to authorize force or otherwise insert Congress into the ongoing stalemate. Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota indicated he would support an authorization if the president requested one but questioned whether the Vietnam-era law remains a practical restraint on a commander in chief facing a determined adversary.

The conflict began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28. Iran has since activated air defenses over Tehran in response to what it described as small aircraft and reconnaissance drones, though Iranian state media reported the situation returned to normal after 20 minutes. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei declared in a televised statement that the United States had suffered a “disgraceful defeat.” Tehran continues to claim it holds the upper hand even as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, driving oil prices to four-year highs before a partial retreat and raising gasoline costs for American consumers.

Administration officials emphasize that the absence of direct fire for nearly a month constitutes termination of hostilities under any reasonable reading of the law. They note that the original notification to Congress followed an emergency response to Iranian aggression, and that the current ceasefire, while fragile, has halted active combat. Talks toward a longer-term agreement have not produced a breakthrough, leaving both sides in a tense standoff. The economic ripple effects, particularly the disruption of energy shipments through the Persian Gulf, illustrate the high stakes but also the limits of military pressure without sustained diplomatic follow-through.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely accepted the administration’s logic. Many who expressed private unease in recent weeks about the duration and cost of the operation nevertheless concluded that forcing a public break with the president would achieve little beyond political theater. The 13 American service members lost and the billions spent represent real costs, yet GOP lawmakers argue that retreating under Democratic pressure would reward Iranian intransigence and undermine deterrence across the region. This deference reflects a broader pattern in which Congress has repeatedly failed to reclaim the war-making authority it asserted in 1973. Presidents of both parties have treated the War Powers Resolution as advisory at best, a reality rooted in the Constitution’s assignment of commander-in-chief powers to the executive.

Democrats framed the blocked votes as evidence of congressional abdication. Senator Adam Schiff of California, who sponsored the latest resolution, argued that after two months it was past time for lawmakers to assert themselves. Yet the repeated failures, even as public frustration grows over gas prices and the human toll, suggest limited appetite for tying the president’s hands while Iran continues to threaten shipping lanes and nuclear ambitions remain unresolved.

As Congress recessed for a week without resolving the legal question, the administration’s position effectively extends American involvement on presidential authority alone. Whether courts or future lawmakers will accept the ceasefire-as-pause theory remains untested. What is clear is that the Trump White House has bet that tangible results, beginning with the cessation of direct combat, will matter more to the public than procedural deadlines written for a different era. The coming weeks will test whether the fragile truce can produce a durable agreement or whether renewed hostilities will force the legal and political debate back to center stage.