Trump claims hostilities have ended in Iran in letter to congressional leaders

Donald Trump said in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Friday that hostilities with Iran have “terminated”, suggesting that the 60-day deadline to seek approval from the legislative branch no longer applied.

Friday marks 60 days since the US president notified members of Congress that the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on 28 February. 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 continue military operations.

In the letter, dated 1 May, Trump said he initiated Operation Epic Fury against Iran and notified Congress on 28 February “consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests at home and abroad, and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests”.

“On April 7, 2026, I ordered a 2-week ceasefire,” the letter continues. “The ceasefire has since been extended. There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated.”

The letter effectively waves off the 1 May legal deadline, which was already expected to lapse without intervention from Republican lawmakers, most of whom have been reluctant to challenge the president’s unilateral use of force.

As he departed the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters that he had no intention of seeking congressional approval for the war because “it’s never been sought before” and suggested the War Powers Act was “totally unconstitutional”.

“Nobody’s ever asked for it before. It’s never been used before. Why should we be different?” he said.

Trump’s letter underscores an interpretation of the War Powers Act that is fiercely contested by legal scholars and Democrats, who have argued for weeks that the president’s war in Iran tramples the separation of powers between the three branches of government.

“That’s bullshit” the Senator minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said on X. “This is an illegal war and every day Republicans remain complicit and allow it to continue is another day lives are endangered, chaos erupts, and prices increase, all while Americans foot the bill.”

The letter comes one day after , the secretary of defense, put forward a similar argument in the Senate armed services committee, on Thursday. In an exchange with the Democratic senator Tim Kaine, who has forced a vote on several ultimately unsuccessful war powers resolutions on the Iran war, Hegseth claimed that “the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire”