Hegseth Claims Ceasefire Pauses Iran War Powers Clock as May 1 Deadline Arrives

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the Senate on April 30 that a ceasefire with Iran pauses the 60-day clock under the War Powers Resolution, as lawmakers and the Trump administration collide over whether congressional authorization for the Iran war was required by May 1. President Donald Trump formally notified Congress of the Iran hostilities on March 2, a notification that multiple news outlets and lawmakers say triggered a 60-day authorization deadline landing on Friday. Hegseth's legal interpretation was immediately challenged by senators from both parties, leaving the question of whether continued U.S. military involvement in Iran remains lawful unresolved.

The Details

Hegseth made the claim during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 30, offering the administration's first public explanation for why it believes it does not need congressional authorization despite reaching the statutory deadline. 'We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,' Hegseth told senators, according to BBC News.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia challenged Hegseth's reading directly. 'I do not believe the statute would support that,' Kaine said, according to BBC News, setting off a broader debate in the chamber over the administration's legal footing.

The War Powers Resolution requires a president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces within 60 days absent congressional authorization, while allowing up to 30 additional days only to facilitate the prompt removal of forces, CNN reported. The text does not contain a ceasefire-pause provision, and critics say the administration's interpretation has no basis in the statute.

Trump formally notified Congress of the hostilities on March 2, according to CBS News, after the United States and Israel began strikes against Iran on approximately February 28. That notification started the War Powers timeline that lawmakers and multiple news outlets said produced a May 1 deadline. A White House official told CBS News that administration officials were in active conversations with members of Congress about congressional authorization for the Iran war ahead of the deadline.

A ceasefire was in place by early April — BBC News and CBS News report it took effect around April 8, while CNBC said it was first announced April 7 — but the administration and its critics differ sharply on what legal effect that pause in active hostilities has on the statutory deadline.

POLITICO reported that critics of the administration's position say the ceasefire does not stop the War Powers clock, pointing out that U.S. pressure on Iran has continued through a naval blockade and related operations even without renewed bombing. The distinction matters because the Resolution's 30-day removal window is framed around the prompt removal of forces, not as a blank-check extension for operations that fall short of full-scale bombing, CNN noted.

Context

Congress has repeatedly voted down Democratic war-powers measures aimed at constraining Trump on Iran, but Republican discomfort appears to be growing as the 60-day deadline arrived, according to CNN, CBS News, and CNBC. Republican senators including Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, John Curtis, and Josh Hawley have signaled that Congress must play a larger role as the deadline hits, CNN, CNBC, and CBS reported.

Collins issued a direct statement on the statute's requirements. 'The Constitution gives Congress an essential role in decisions of war and peace, and the War Powers Act establishes a clear 60-day deadline for Congress to either authorize or end U.S. involvement in foreign hostilities,' she said, according to CNN.

The ceasefire has not produced a broader settlement, and reporting from BBC News, POLITICO, and CNBC indicates that U.S.-Iran pressure tactics linked to the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports continue shaping the conflict. CBS News cited legal analysts noting that prior administrations have stretched or reinterpreted the War Powers Resolution, a pattern the current administration may be relying on in its ceasefire-clock argument.

What's Next

The White House told CBS News that administration officials were in active conversations with members of Congress about seeking formal authorization, suggesting that a legislative resolution remains possible even as the administration asserts it does not legally need one. Whether those talks produce a formal vote before or after additional Republican senators break with the administration remains unclear from the sourced record.

Hegseth's testimony leaves the legal dispute formally unresolved. Kaine, who challenged the ceasefire interpretation during the hearing, and outside legal analysts cited by CBS News and CNN have said the statute does not support the administration's reading. The administration has not released a formal public legal memo laying out its full theory, according to reporting across the five outlets consulted.