Trump claims hostilities have ended in Iran in letter to congressional leaders | US-Israel war on Iran
Donald Trump said in a letter to congressional leaders on Friday that hostilities with Iran “are over” and suggested that the 60-day period to get approval from the legislature is no longer valid.
Friday marks 60 days since the US president notified members of Congress that the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president can deploy troops to respond to an “imminent threat” but must receive congressional approval within 60 days to resume military operations.
In his May 1 letter, Trump launched Operation Epic Rage against Iran, informing Congress on February 28 that it was “consistent with my responsibility to protect the interests of Americans and the United States at home and abroad and to advance the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”
“On April 7, 2026, I ordered a 2-week ceasefire,” the letter, addressed to Republican House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate president pro tempore Republican senator Chuck Grassley, continues. “The ceasefire has been extended since then. There has been no conflict between US Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The conflicts that started on February 28, 2026 have ended.”
The letter effectively cancels a May 1 deadline that was supposed to expire anyway without intervention from Republican lawmakers, most of whom are reluctant to oppose the president’s unilateral use of force.
Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday that he had no intention of seeking congressional approval for military action because “it’s never been asked for before” and claimed the War Powers Act was “completely unconstitutional.”
“Nobody’s asked for this before. It’s never been used before. Why should we be any different?” he said.
Trump’s letter underscores his interpretation of the War Powers Act, which has been fiercely debated for weeks by lawyers and Democrats who have argued that the president’s war in Iran violates the separation of powers between the three branches of government.
“This is bullshit,” Senator minority leader Chuck Schumer said on X. “This is an illegal war, and Republicans remain complicit every day and allow it to continue; lives are endangered, chaos erupts, and prices soar, and Americans are paying the price for it all.”
Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate armed services committee, said Trump’s statement “does not reflect the fact that tens of thousands of US troops in the region remain in danger, that the administration has repeatedly threatened to escalate hostilities, or that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and domestic prices are soaring.”
“President Trump entered this war without a strategy and without legal authorization, and today’s announcement does not change either fact,” Shaheen said. wrote.
On Friday, the ACLU sent a message. letter He expressed “deep concern” to the White House that the president was “waging an illegal war.”
“Even a quick read of the succinctly written War Powers Resolution makes clear that there is no pause button — and certainly no reset button — under the statute,” the ACLU letter says.
The letter came a day after defense secretary Pete Hegseth made a similar argument in testimony before the Senate armed services committee on Thursday. Hegseth claimed that “the 60-day clock paused or stopped on the ceasefire” during a meeting with Democratic senator Tim Kaine, who forced him to vote on several ultimately unsuccessful war powers resolutions regarding the Iran war..
“I don’t believe the law would support that,” Kaine said, adding that Trump’s investigation of the war raises “serious constitutional concerns.”
Senate Republicans once again blocked Thursday war powers decision Democrats’ proposal aimed at ending the conflict in Iran.
“Even if you accept the proposition that Trump’s war on Iran is responding to an imminent threat, which I absolutely do not, Trump does not have the authority under the War Powers Act to continue this war for 60 days,” Adam Schiff, the California Democratic senator who introduced the latest war powers resolution, said in a statement after Thursday’s failed vote.
Although Trump had previously claimed that the war would end “very soon,” it was clear in his letter that the operation was largely continuing.
“Despite the success of U.S. operations against the Iranian regime and ongoing efforts to secure a lasting peace, the threat posed by Iran to the United States and our Armed Forces remains serious,” Trump said in the letter, adding that the Pentagon would continue to “update our force posture as necessary and appropriate” across the region “to address threats from Iran and Iranian proxies.”
