Congress Faces Deadline to Authorize or End Trump’s Iran War

Congress faced a hard constitutional choice as the 60-day clock on Donald J. Trump’s Iran operation expired: authorize the war, or move to end it.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires a president to seek congressional approval within 60 days of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities, unless Congress has declared war or approved the use of force. The law allows only one extra 30-day period, and that extension is meant for a safe withdrawal, not for continuing offensive operations. Trump’s administration notified Congress on March 2, 2026, which set May 1 as the relevant deadline for action.

The White House said it launched Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026, saying the campaign was aimed at eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat, ballistic missile arsenal, proxy terror networks and naval forces. That rationale now sits at the center of a broader fight over whether the president can keep widening a conflict without a new vote from Congress.

On April 30, Senate Republicans blocked a war powers resolution for the sixth time, rejecting a 47-50 effort to limit Trump’s ability to strike Iran further. Susan Collins broke with most of her party and voted for a resolution to end hostilities, saying the president’s authority is not without limits. Even so, many Republicans who had signaled unease continued to defer to Trump as the deadline approached, leaving pressure on Congress to move beyond rhetoric and either approve the operation or impose a timetable for ending it.

The fight has exposed an old but unresolved constitutional issue in sharper form. The War Powers Resolution was written to ensure the collective judgment of Congress and the president governs the introduction of armed forces, yet presidents of both parties have steadily pushed past its limits. Now, with midterms looming and the conflict still active, lawmakers are confronting whether they are willing to reassert those limits in practice.

Congressional Research Service guidance says an authorizing bill or joint resolution can receive expedited consideration if introduced within the first 30 calendar days of the 60-day window, a procedural route lawmakers did not fully use. With that window closed and the deadline reached, the question in Washington is no longer whether Congress had tools. It is whether Congress will use them before presidential war power becomes the default.