Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argued Thursday that a ceasefire with Iran pauses the War Powers Act's 60-day clock, a claim he said means the Trump administration is not yet required to seek congressional authorization to continue the conflict.
Although the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran's political leadership and military infrastructure began Feb. 28, President Donald Trump did not notify Congress until March 2. That places the 60-day deadline on Friday, when congressional authorization would be required to continue the conflict.
The ceasefire, initially set for two weeks, began April 8 and has since been extended indefinitely by Trump.
"On Iran, ultimately I would defer to the White House [and] White House counsel on that," Hegseth said in response to a question from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
"However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire," Hegseth said.
Kaine responded that he does not believe the statute supports that interpretation.
"I think the 60 days runs [out] maybe tomorrow, and it's going to pose a really important legal question for the administration," he said. "We have serious constitutional concerns, and we don't want to layer those with additional statutory concerns."
Hegseth's comments appear to be the first time the Trump administration has advanced that argument and are likely to face legal challenges. It remains unclear what legal basis under the War Powers Act would support the claim.
The War Powers Act of 1973 was created to limit a president's authority to wage war without congressional approval. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities and bars those forces from remaining for more than 60 days without authorization. The president may request a 30-day extension to allow for the safe withdrawal of troops.
The law contains no provision allowing the 60-day clock to pause during a ceasefire.
The White House did not directly address whether a ceasefire pauses the War Powers Act's 60-day clock.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Newsmax that the administration has "been transparent with the Hill since before Operation Epic Fury began," noting officials have provided "over 30 bipartisan briefings for Members of Congress to keep them apprised of military updates."
"The President's preference is always diplomacy, and Iran wants to make a deal," Kelly added.
A White House official told Newsmax the administration is "in active conversations with the Hill on this topic," and warned that lawmakers who "try to score political points by usurping the commander-in-chief's authority would only undermine the United States military abroad."
Later Thursday, the Senate for the sixth time rejected a resolution intended to halt the conflict, voting 50-47. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined nearly all Democrats in supporting the measure, as did Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has backed previous efforts to rein in the administration's war powers. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution.
Collins said before the vote that she would oppose extending the strikes beyond the 60-day window.
"The 60-day trigger is a very important one," she said, according to The Hill. "At that point, Congress has to authorize the military action to continue. There's a 30-day period where you could wind it down. And I will not support extending the hostilities beyond that 60 days except for wind-down activities."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.