Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth controversially claimed on Thursday that the fragile ceasefire with Iran means that President Donald Trump does not yet have to seek congressional consent to extend the war.
Hegseth argued that the pause in hostilities freezes the ticking clock that would otherwise require the president either to get agreement from lawmakers or to end military operations after 60 days.
“We are in a ceasefire right now, which [in] our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses, or stops,” Hegseth told Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
Kaine, who was Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, strongly disputed Hegseth’s interpretation.
“I do not believe the statute would support that,” Kaine said, adding that he has “serious constitutional concerns and we don’t want to layer those with additional statutory concerns.”
The 60-day threshold is delineated in the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The most relevant part of that law makes no mention of a ceasefire, stating instead that a president needs to inform Congress within 48 hours of hostilities commencing.
After such a report, the law states that “within sixty calendar days” the president must “terminate any use of United States Armed Forces” unless Congress consents to an extension.
Friday marks 60 days since the Trump administration notified Congress that it had launched strikes on Iran. The law gives the president the option to ask for a 30-day extension, though it is unclear whether Trump intends to do so.
A White House official told Military Times on Thursday that “the administration is in active conversations” with lawmakers on this topic, noting that members of Congress who try to “score political points by usurping the commander-in-chief’s authority would only undermine the United States military abroad.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement that Trump has been “transparent with the Hill since before Operation Epic Fury began, and administration officials provided over 30 bipartisan briefings for members of Congress to keep them apprised of military updates.”
“The president’s preference is always diplomacy,” she said, “and Iran wants to make a deal.”
Hegseth’s remarks came during his second consecutive day on Capitol Hill, where he testified under oath that, eight weeks into the war with Iran, America’s top adversary is not any foreign nation — but instead the “reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.”
The Pentagon chief repeatedly cast those members of Congress as undercutting the U.S. military’s performance in Iran, while criticizing them for their failure to acknowledge the achievements of Operation Epic Fury.
“President Trump has had the courage, unlike other presidents, to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds,” Hegseth said in his opening statement.
He blasted “defeatists from the cheap seats who, two months in, seek to undermine the incredible efforts that have been undertaken, and the historic nature of taking on a 47-year threat with the courage no other president has had, to great success and great opportunity for preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon.”
The hearing quickly devolved into confrontation when a protester interrupted the proceedings, shouting, “Pete Hegseth, you’re a war criminal,” before being swiftly escorted out by Capitol Police Officers.
Attention then shifted to Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, who accused Hegseth of overstating the U.S. military’s accomplishments.
“The problem with your statements, Mr. Secretary, is they are dangerously exaggerated,” Reed asserted. “Iran’s hardline regime remains in place. It still retains stockpiles of enriched uranium, and its nuclear program remains viable.”
Reed contended that the Islamic Republic is far from depleted. Iran retains, he said, enough combat effectiveness to sustain a protracted impasse; an arsenal of missiles and drones that constitutes a more serious threat than the secretary has publicly conceded; and a demonstrated ability — when it choses — to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz.
“I am concerned that you have been telling the president what he wants to hear, instead of what he needs to hear,” Reed continued. “Our military has performed heroically, but military force without a sound strategy is a path to long-term defeat.”
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
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