Trump Has A Week Left To Decide The Fate Of War With Iran
- 23.04.2026, 15:18
By May 1, the President of the United States will actually have three options.
The war the U.S. is waging against Iran has been going on for nearly two months, and the deadline is approaching for Donald Trump and congressmen to decide how to proceed. The law prohibits the president from waging war without congressional approval for longer than 60 days. By May 1, Trump will actually have three options, writes The New York Times: ask Congress for permission to continue military action, begin winding it down or try to circumvent the restriction.
Bombing Iran began on February 28, and Trump has explained that he is acting under his authority as commander in chief to protect American bases in the Middle East and "advance the vital national interests of the United States," including "the collective self-defense of our regional He formally notified Congress on Monday, March 2; the 60-day deadline, which expires May 1, runs from that day, the NYT explains.
Democrats in Congress have already tried five times to pass resolutions to halt military action and force Trump to consult with lawmakers. Republicans have blocked all of them, but some have made clear that the statutory limit is important to them.
Republican Senator John Curtis wrote in early April that he "would not support continuing military action beyond the 60-day deadline without congressional approval." Lisa Murkowski was among the first to criticize the administration's lack of transparency about the war's goals, costs and timeline. She is now drafting a resolution with a group of senators authorizing the use of military force against Iran, but the main purpose of the document, she said, is to restore congressional credibility and demand that the administration follow clear parameters for the operation.
In the Senate, Republicans have a slim margin of 53 votes out of 100. If a few in the party that has so far given Trump carte blanche take a hard line, the White House will have to find a compromise.
The president could lose significant support if the conflict extends into May, warned Brian Mast, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. Immediately after Republicans in the House barely blocked the Democrats' resolution last week, Mast said "the outcome of the vote could be different in 60 days," referring to the May 1 deadline.
The law allows for a 30-day extension of hostilities if the president certifies in writing that additional time is needed to safely withdraw U.S. troops. But such an extension does not authorize the continuation of an offensive campaign.
Presidents from both parties, however, have previously been able to continue military operations without congressional approval and beyond the 60-day deadline. For example, Barack Obama explained in 2011 that the law did not apply to the then-ongoing operation against Libya to stop the brutal suppression of popular demonstrations by Muammar Gaddafi's forces because it "does not involve prolonged combat or an active exchange of fire with hostile forces, nor does it involve U.S. ground troops."
This drew sharp criticism from both parties, but some lawmakers speculate that the Trump administration could make similar arguments in the case of Iran, the NYT writes.
Trump extended the two-week truce that expired Tuesday, though he called it "unlikely" a day earlier. He did not designate a deadline for its end. Axios sources claim the president is willing to give Iran "three to five more days" to "get its act together." Trump himself called such information a "fake," saying there was "no pressure for a deadline" regarding a ceasefire or agreeing on a new date for talks with Iran.
At the same time, more than 20 US warships continue to block the passage of Iran-affiliated vessels on the notional border of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The US has also dispatched a third naval strike group to the region. Led by the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush, it will arrive in the Middle East within three to five days.