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.
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“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, but talks have not produced results.
Iran has blocked traffic in the Strait of Ho. 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.
As he departed the White House on Friday heading to Florida, the president also 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.
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.”
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