Hegseth says Iran ceasefire paused war powers clock, easing Trump deadline

Pete Hegseth told senators the ceasefire with Iran effectively paused or stopped the War Powers clock, a position that could spare the White House from asking Congress for approval before the deadline many lawmakers saw arriving on Friday, May 1, 2026.

Hegseth made the case on April 30, 2026, before the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. The administration says the war had already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, even though President Donald Trump’s war-powers notification to Congress was dated March 2, 2026, after the United States and Israel first struck Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. That timeline put the dispute squarely on Capitol Hill as the 60-day limit in the War Powers Resolution approached.

The statute is built to force a constitutional check on presidential war making. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours after introducing U.S. forces into hostilities, then withdraw those forces after 60 days unless Congress authorizes the action. It allows only one narrow extension, up to 30 additional days, and only if the president certifies in writing that unavoidable military necessity tied to the safety of U.S. forces requires continued operations while the withdrawal is underway. Congress wrote the law to ensure the collective judgment of both branches applies when American forces enter hostilities.

Critics say a ceasefire is not one of the law’s escape hatches. Sen. Tim Kaine said, “I do not believe the statute would support that,” and added that he has “serious constitutional concerns.” House Speaker Mike Johnson took a different view, saying, “We are not at war,” and arguing that the conflict is not an active kinetic bombing campaign. Those competing readings turn the ceasefire itself into a constitutional test of whether a president can pause the war clock simply by declaring the fighting over.

The stakes extend beyond Iran. If a ceasefire can stop the War Powers clock, future presidents could use the same logic to avoid Congress’s 60-day review and turn temporary truces into a way to extend military action without a vote.