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GOP war powers resolution argument triggers a furor between Trump, lawmakers over Iran

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by Mike Lillis - 05/02/26 6:00 AM ET

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by Mike Lillis - 05/02/26 6:00 AM ET

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The partisan battle over authorizing the Iran War has shifted to one of semantics, as the sides haggle over a contentious deadline created by a Vietnam-era law.

On Friday, the conflict hit the 60-day mark — a critical marker under the 1973 War Powers Act — and Democrats are using the milestone to fuel their efforts to force President Trump to end the military campaign against Tehran immediately, unless Congress explicitly approves it.

Trump and his Republican allies are pushing back, arguing that the conflict never rose to the level of a “war,” precluding the need for congressional consent. They also maintain that, even if it did meet that distinction, the current ceasefire has effectively ended the shooting part of the war long before the 60-day threshold was met.

The clash is renewing the age-old debate over the separation of powers when it comes to the use of military force. And it promises to continue for many weeks to come, as Democrats are vowing a strategy of forcing vote after vote on war powers resolutions, if only to put Republicans on record supporting a conflict that’s grown wildly unpopular with voters.

“The Founders of our country gave Congress, as representatives of the American people, the ultimate decision of when we go to war,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). “Trump has no plan to sustain the current conflict, no plan to transition the current Iranian government toward democracy, and no plan to de-escalate or contain the conflict from spreading throughout the region.”

Garamendi is among a growing list of liberal Democrats who have introduced war powers resolutions in the days leading up to the 60-day threshold. The campaign, being led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), is designed to stagger the resolutions so they “ripen” — that is, mature to the point of becoming eligible for a floor vote — on a rolling basis. The tactic will allow Democrats to force a barrage of votes on the war, interspersed at regular intervals as Congress inches closer to the midterm elections.

“This is what I hope will be a steady stream of these until we get some Republicans to join us,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who has sponsored his own war powers resolution.

So far, Republicans have been virtually united against the notion of limiting Trump’s war powers. Two resolutions have already come to the floor in the House, and six more in the Senate. All of them have been blocked by Trump’s GOP allies, who have warned that any effort to restrain U.S. forces amid the conflict will only empower Tehran’s Islamic regime at the expense of America’s national security.

“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,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told NBC News on Thursday. “I would be very reluctant to get in front of the administration in the midst of these very sensitive negotiations, so we’ll have to see how that plays out.”

That same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a similar message to the Senate, arguing that the days since the ceasefire, which began on April 7, don’t count toward the 60-day threshold.

“We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses, or stops, in a ceasefire,” he said during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Trump on Friday intensified the debate dramatically, telling reporters the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. He also sent a letter to Johnson and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Senate’s president pro tempore, saying the fighting has ended, nullifying the need for Congress to weigh in.

“There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” Trump wrote. “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026 have terminated.”

Still, Trump also warned that Tehran’s forces remain an active threat, and for that reason he’ll be keeping U.S. forces on the ready in the region.

“I appreciate the support of the Congress in these actions,” he wrote.

Democrats have no intention of providing it. They’re accusing the administration of violating Article I of the Constitution, which stipulates that only Congress has the authority to “declare war.”

Democrats also say GOP leaders are misrepresenting the intent of the War Powers Act, which was designed to limit a president’s authority to conduct war without the expressed consent of Congress. Under the law, the president must inform Congress within 48 hour