President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire had ended hostilities with Iran, seeking to bolster his argument that he does not need lawmakers’ authorization to continue the conflict.
In a letter to congressional leaders this Friday, the deadline to address the legislature regarding the war, Trump stated that no exchanges of fire had occurred with Iran since the ceasefire. “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have ended,” he declared.
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, a U.S. president can only conduct military action for 60 days before ending it, seeking congressional approval, or requesting a 30-day extension due to an “inevitable military necessity concerning the security of U.S. armed forces” while withdrawing troops.
On Friday, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran had transmitted its latest negotiation proposal with the U.S. to Pakistani mediators. Trump promptly rejected it.
The president officially notified Congress of the conflict 48 hours after the initial airstrikes two months ago, triggering the 60-day countdown that ends on May 1.
As the deadline approached, congressional advisers and analysts expected President Trump to bypass it. A senior Trump administration official stated Thursday that, according to the administration, the War Powers law deadline did not apply.
Trump argued that he believed the War Powers law was unconstitutional. Legal experts note that the issue has not been decided by the courts yet.
“We have a ceasefire, which gives us additional time,” Trump said before leaving Washington for Florida.
Democratic senators in Congress, who have repeatedly tried to pass war powers legislation requiring Trump to end the conflict or seek parliamentary approval, rejected this interpretation, stating that nothing in the 1973 law mentioned a ceasefire.
They also noted that the continued deployment of U.S. ships blocking Iranian oil exports was evidence of ongoing hostility, not a ceasefire.
“After sixty days of conflict, President Trump still has no strategy or resolution for this poorly planned war,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She described the deadline as a “clear legal threshold” requiring action from Trump.
In his letter to Congress, Trump acknowledged that the conflict may not be resolved. He claimed that Iran still poses a “significant” threat to the U.S. and its armed forces.
With the November elections approaching, polls show that the war is unpopular among Americans, who will determine the balance of power in Congress next year.
The U.S. Constitution states that only Congress, not the president, can declare war, but this restriction does not apply to short-term operations or countering an immediate threat.
On Thursday, Trump received a briefing on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate a resolution to the conflict.
If fighting resumes, Trump can inform legislators that he has started a new 60-day cycle. Presidents from both parties have done so repeatedly during intermittent hostilities since Congress passed the War Powers law in response to the Vietnam War, a conflict that was also largely unpopular among Americans and not authorized by Congress.
