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

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 hours of launching military operations, and the armed forces must be withdrawn within 60 days afterwards, with the option of requesting a 30-day extension. Trump gave the initial notice, but says he has no plan to either withdraw forces or seek congressional approval to keep them there.

“Republicans are twisting the War Powers Act beyond all recognition,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “That statute was meant to limit the president’s power not to expand it. And in any event, no federal statute can override the Constitution and the Constitution is clear only Congress can declare a war.

“And we’re in a war.”

Politically, Democrats have every reason to highlight the Iran conflict whenever they can. Polls increasingly indicate that voters oppose the war, and the numbers are getting worse for the administration as the conflict grows longer and the economic effects — particularly the spike in gas prices — hit more and more people in their wallets. A new survey released Friday by The Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos found that 61 percent of respondents said it was a mistake to launch the strikes at all.

The effects of that unpopularity are beginning to show in the Capitol, where more and more Republicans are beginning to voice reservations about the wisdom of continuing the conflict, particularly without the input of Congress.

A Senate vote on a war powers resolution on Thursday — the sixth to hit the floor of the upper chamber since the conflict began — failed by a vote of 47 to 50. But in a sign that Republicans are beginning to face some heat at home, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who’s facing a tough reelection contest in November, crossed the aisle for the first time to join Democrats and GOP Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in support of the bill.

“The 60-day trigger is a very important one,” she said this week. “At that point, Congress has to authorize the military action to continue.”

Democrats are hoping to exploit the growing Republican concerns by continuing to put war powers resolutions on the floor and all but daring GOP lawmakers to oppose them. They’re hoping the arrival of the 60-day marker lends them a boost, even if Trump is dismissing it as irrelevant.

“We want to get this bill passed. Clearly, to pass it, you have to have some Republicans,” said Rep. Greg Meeks (N.Y.), the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We’re hoping, because of the 60 day period — that had been the excuse that some Republicans utilized for not jumping on. So that excuse evaporates.”

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