Trump Says He Doesn’t Need Congressional Authorization for Military Operations in Iran, Citing Ceasefire
By Monica Alba, Alexandra Marquez, Owen Hayes and Kyla Guilfoil
Trump told reporters he considers seeking congressional authorization under the War Powers Act “unconstitutional” and falsely claimed other presidents had not done so.
President Donald Trump on Friday sent letters to Congress explaining that, due to the ceasefire, he doesn’t need its authorization for military operations in Iran, even though the conflict hit the 60-day mark this week.
“On April 7, 2026, I ordered a two-week ceasefire. The ceasefire has since been extended. There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote in the letters, one of which went to the House and one of which went to the Senate.
“Despite the success of United States operations against the Iranian regime and continued efforts to secure a lasting peace, the threat posed by Iran to the United States and our Armed Forces remains significant,” the president added in the letter, promising to keep congressional leaders updated on further developments in Iran.
The letters come as congressional leaders this week faced mounting questions about whether they planned to schedule votes on a formal war authorization from Congress.
The 1973 War Powers Resolution directs the president to seek authorization for war from Congress after an ongoing military conflict hits the 60-day threshold. The law allows for a president to seek a 30-day extension if necessary to safely remove troops from the region, but Trump did not mention that in his letter.
“I have and will continue to direct United States Armed Forces consistent with my responsibilities and pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive,” the president wrote in his letter.
The U.S. military strikes on Iran officially began on Feb. 28, but the Trump administration notified Congress of the conflict on March 2, starting the 60-day clock then.
A temporary ceasefire went into effect on April 8 to allow the U.S. and Iran room to negotiate an end to the war and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but talks have not produced results.
Iran has blocked traffic in the Strait. The U.S. has a naval blockade of the Iranian ports and is using more than 100 fighter and surveillance aircraft, two carrier strike groups, and more than one dozen ships to enforce the blockade. A Navy destroyer fired on and hit an Iranian-flagged cargo that attempted to move through the blockade.
Michael Glennon, a professor of constitutional and international law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, told NBC News that Trump’s argument for not needing congressional authorization “is a stretch” and that he does not believe “that the administration is correct in arguing that the clock has stopped.”
“The hostilities are continuing as a consequence of the administration’s enforcement of the blockade,” said Glennon, who served as legal counsel to the State Department under the George W. Bush administration and to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 1970s when he handled legal matters like the War Powers Resolution.
“That’s not a ceasefire. It’s not a suspension of hostilities,” Glennon added. “If the ceasefire were a genuine and comprehensive ceasefire that involved a cessation of hostilities, which to say if the war ended, of course, the clock would stop. But the war has not ended.”
Stephen Pomper, chief of policy at the International Crisis Group who served as senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, also cited the naval blockade in an interview with NBC News.
“That is a hostile act,” he said. “It’s an act of war. It’s an act that puts U.S. troops at risk.”
“So, if this isn’t a situation that’s covered by the definition of hostilities, what is?” he added.
In a statement released Friday, Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, argued that the ceasefire does not stop the clock for the War Powers Resolution.
“Hostilities have not ceased; both sides are enforcing naval blockades through military force,” the lawmakers wrote. “From Day One, this has been an unauthorized war of choice based on a demonstrably false premise of an imminent Iranian threat and as of today, 60 days in, there is still no congressional authorization for President Trump’s war.”
As Trump departed the White House on Friday heading to Florida, he told reporters that he wasn’t seeking authorization from Congress, “because it’s never been sought before.”
“There’s been numerous, many, many times, and nobody’s ever gotten it before. They consider it totally unconstitutional, but we’re always in touch with Congress, but nobody’s ever sought it before. Nobody’s ever asked for it before. It’s never been used before. Why should we be different?” he said in response to NBC News.
In the past, other presidents have also argued that they don’t need congressional authorization for certain military engagements.
In 2011, then-President Barack Obama argued against seeking congressional approval for a military operation in Libya, with his administration saying, “U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve U.S. ground troops.”
But then-Presidents George W. Bush in 2001 and 2002 and George H.W. Bush in 1991 did seek congressional authorization for military conflicts in the Middle East and in those cases, lawmakers approved their requests.
Congress last year repealed the 2002 and 1991 authorizations for use of military force as part of the Pentagon’s annual spending package.
Matt Waxman, a Columbia Law School professor who served in senior positions at the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, told NBC News via email that while a ceasefire could be taken into account regarding the War Powers Resolution, it would be difficult to make that argument here.
“Given the way the act is written, I think there’s room to argue that a ceasefire could reset the clock, but the facts make that claim hard to defend in this case,” Waxman wrote.
“American forces are still enforcing a blockade militarily, and the administration continually emphasizes that it has amassed a huge force in the Gulf that’s imminently ready to destroy Iran. So, the administration is trying to have it both ways,” he added.
On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., argued that Congress wouldn’t have to formally weigh in on the military conflict with Iran, telling NBC News, “we’re not at war.”
Johnson made a similar point to Trump’s argument about the ceasefire, saying, “I don’t think we have an active, kinetic military bombing, firing or anything like that. Right now, we are trying to broker a peace.”
Later Thursday, in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also dismissed the 60-day threshold, telling lawmakers, “I would defer to the White House and White House counsel on that. However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which, our understanding, means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.”
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-congressional-authorization-iran-military-operation-war-powers-rcna343094