THE NEW YORK TIMES: In letters to the House and Senate, the president asserted that the hostilities had “terminated,” in an apparent attempt to avoid having to seek congressional approval.
President Trump sent letters to Congress on Friday making the case that a Vietnam-era law requiring him to seek congressional authorization to continue military operations in Iran did not apply because the conflict was in a cease-fire.
In the letters — sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the president pro tempore of the Senate — Mr. Trump said that he was writing to inform them “of changes in the posture of United States Forces” and reiterated his administration’s position that a cease-fire he declared on April 7 had stopped the clock on the war.
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, if presidents deploy American forces into hostilities without congressional authorization, they must end the operation after 60 days if the legislative branch does not grant permission for the continued use of forces on the mission. The law also allows the president a single 30-day extension, but only to safely bring troops home, not to extend combat.
But Mr. Trump’s letters made the case that there had “been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7,” and that hostilities the United States and Israel began on Feb. 28 “have terminated,” in an apparent attempt to avoid having to seek congressional approval. He did not mention that U.S. forces fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on April 19. » | Erica L. Green and Megan Mineiro | Friday, May 1, 2026
