Trump says Congress deadline to approve Iran war doesn’t apply, claims hostilities are ‘over’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House assured Congress in a letter Friday that hostilities with Iran have “ended” despite the continued presence of U.S. armed forces in the region.

President Donald Trump’s letter effectively ignores the legal May 1 deadline for approval from members of Congress to continue the war with Iran. That deadline had already been set to pass without any action by Republican lawmakers who defer to the president.

Read more: 4 Conclusions from Hegseth Hearings on Landmark Defense Budget Request, Iran War

The letter starkly highlights the bold but legally questionable assertion of presidential power at the heart of Trump’s war, which he began without congressional approval two months ago.

“The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have ended,” Trump wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the president pro tempore of the Senate.

However, he also made it clear in the letter that the war may not be over yet.

Read more: Trump is “not satisfied” with Iran’s proposal to end the war

The Republican president said: “Despite the success of American operations against the Iranian regime and ongoing efforts to ensure lasting peace, the threat that Iran poses to the United States and our armed forces remains great.”

Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize the use of force within 60 days — Friday was the deadline — or within 90 days if the president requests an extension. This Congress made no attempt to implement this requirement, and left town on Thursday for a week after the Senate rejected the Democrats’ attempt to stop the war for the sixth time.

Read more: Congress has not officially declared war since World War II. Here’s how presidential war powers have evolved since then

Some GOP senators are concerned about the timeline for the war, which Trump initially said would last a few weeks. But Trump’s letter showed how the president continues to waive congressional approval. It asserts that the deadlines set by the law do not apply because the war in Iran effectively ended when the fragile ceasefire began in early April.

Republican debate over the war

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that he does not plan to hold a vote to authorize the use of force in Iran or otherwise express his opinion.

“I’m listening carefully to what members of our conference are saying, and at this point I don’t see that,” Thune said.

The reluctance to challenge Trump on the war comes at a politically fraught time for Republicans, with public frustration mounting over the conflict and its impact on gas prices. However, most GOP lawmakers say they support Trump’s wartime leadership or are at least willing to give him more time amid the fragile ceasefire.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he would vote for war authorization if Trump requested it. But Cramer questioned whether the resolution passed during the Vietnam War era, as a way for Congress to regain its authority, was constitutional.

“Our founders have created a really strong CEO, like it or not,” Cramer said.

Some GOP senators have made clear they ultimately want Congress to have a say.

Indiana Sen. Todd Young said in a statement that lawmakers “must ensure that the people, through their elected representatives, consider whether to send our military into combat.”

He added that since the Trump administration has stated that “the Iranian conflict has stopped, there should be no hostilities progressing,” and that if the conflict resumes, he expects the White House to work with Congress to pass an authorization for the use of military force.

Some Republicans indicate they want to vote

A handful of GOP senators have said for weeks that Congress must assert authority over the war at some point. Among them is Susan Collins of Maine, who voted for the first time with Democrats on Thursday in favor of stopping the war. She said in a statement that she wanted to see a specific strategy to end the conflict.

“The president’s authority as commander-in-chief of the armed forces is not unlimited,” Collins said, adding that the 60-day deadline “is not a proposal, but a demand.”

In addition to Collins and Young, Republican Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Josh Hawley of Missouri, among others, have said they would eventually like to hold a vote.

Curtis said he would not support continued funding for the war until Congress voted to authorize it.

“It is time for both the administration and Congress to make decisions — and that can happen in alliance with each other, not in conflict,” Curtis said.

Thune suggested that the White House step up its outreach to lawmakers through briefings and hearings if it wants continued support from Capitol Hill.

“Obviously getting readouts from our military leadership on a fairly regular basis, I think will be helpful in terms of shaping the views of our members about how comfortable they are with everything that’s going on out there, and the direction that’s going forward,” Thune said.

The administration says the deadline does not apply

As the 60-day period under the War Powers Resolution expired on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a congressional hearing on Thursday: “We are in a ceasefire now, which means our understanding is that the 60-day clock is pausing or stopping.”

The administration makes this argument even though Iran maintains a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy maintains a blockade to prevent Iranian oil tankers from going out to sea.

Trump on Friday echoed Hegseth’s argument, stressing that other presidents have not similarly sought congressional approval as required by the 1973 law.

“All the other presidents have considered this to be completely unconstitutional, and we agree with that,” Trump said at the White House as he departed for Florida.

Democrats scoffed at the suggestion that May 1 was not the real deadline.

“There is no pause button in the Constitution, or the War Powers Act. We are at war. We have been at war for 60 days. A blockade alone is a sustained act of war,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said on social media.

This development was not a surprise to at least one of the Democrats in the House of Representatives that oversees the military.

“Is the Trump administration expected to follow the law? I don’t have that expectation,” Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told The Associated Press.