Trump doesn't need Congress to restart Iran strikes: Hegseth

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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump’s FY2027 budget request for the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2026.

Eric Lee | Reuters

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump doesn’t need congressional approval to restart strikes on Iran despite surpassing the 60-day limit allowed under federal law.

Hegseth’s testimony Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee came after the Trump administration surpassed the 60-day mark required by the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force. The administration said earlier in May that hostilities had ceased with Iran, so it was not seeking authorization.

Hegseth, however, said under questioning from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, that Trump would have the authority to restart strikes if he deemed it necessary.

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“Should the president make the decision to recommence, we would have all of the authorities necessary to do so,” Hegseth said.

Murkowski pressed Hegseth further, asking if it would be “helpful to the president if it was made clear that, in fact, the Congress did provide an AUMF?”

“Our view is that he has all the authorities he needs under Article 2,” Hegseth said, referring to the section of the U.S. Constitution that defines presidential powers.

Hegseth was on Capitol Hill to testify on the administration’s massive, nearly $1.5 trillion budget request for the 2027 fiscal year. But the war with Iran loomed large over the hearings, especially as the U.S. and Iran continue to remain at loggerheads in negotiations to end the conflict and under a shaky ceasefire.

The war, now well into its third month, has caused gas prices to spike in the U.S. and oil to soar globally as Iran continues to lock down the Strait of Hormuz, which carried 20% of the world’s oil before the Iran war.

Trump is required under the War Powers Resolution to seek the consent of Congress for the sustained use of military force beyond 60 days. The administration has argued that the law is unconstitutional and that the president has the authority to conduct military operations under Article 2 of the Constitution.

The president told Congress on May 1 that hostilities had ceased, on the day that would have been the deadline for congressional authorization.

Murkowski, however, appeared to express concern with the administration’s reading of the statute.

“The war powers resolution is pretty clear here; it requires the president to terminate hostilities within 60 days absent congressional authorization,” she said. “It doesn’t appear that hostilities have ended.”

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