Pete Hegseth Says Iran Ceasefire Pauses War Powers Clock Before Trump’s Friday Deadline

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued Thursday that a ceasefire with Iran means the 60-day clock under the 1973 War Powers Resolution “pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” as President Donald Trump faces a Friday deadline tied to Congress’s authorization for the U.S. war against Iran.

The dispute centers on whether the clock—triggered when Trump notified Congress of attacks in early March—requires the administration to begin winding down hostilities unless lawmakers authorize the use of force.

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TRT World described Trump as facing a “midnight deadline to secure congressional authorisation for the US war against Iran,” while the Washington Post framed Hegseth’s position as an attempt to “stave off the rapidly approaching deadline.”

In the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth told Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that “we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” according to The Hill.

Kaine immediately pushed back, saying “I do not believe the statute would support that,” and CBS News reported that the 60-day window expires Friday after the clock began with a March 2 letter.

Multiple outlets tied the legal timeline to the same sequence: the Iran war began Feb. 28, Trump formally informed Congress on March 2, and the deadline falls on Friday, with the War Powers Resolution allowing a 30-day extension for safe withdrawal.

The disagreement is now playing out as Congress prepares for another war powers vote and as the administration continues military posture in the region despite the ceasefire.

The 60-day deadline is rooted in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the president to seek congressional authorization after 60 days of fighting, or otherwise begin winding down hostilities.

Reuters, via The Times of Israel, said the Iran conflict began on February 28, when Israel and the United States began airstrikes on Iran, and that Trump formally notified Congress 48 hours later, starting the 60-day deadline clock that ends May 1.

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The Times of Israel also described how analysts and US congressional aides expect Trump to either notify Congress that he plans a 30-day extension or disregard the deadline, while the administration argues a current ceasefire with Tehran marked an end to the conflict.

TRT World similarly described the 60-day clock as “triggered when Trump notified Congress of attacks in early March,” requiring the administration to begin winding down hostilities unless lawmakers authorize the use of force.

CBS News laid out the same structure, saying the president must give formal notification to Congress within 48 hours of introducing American forces into hostilities, which “officially begins a 60-day clock” to terminate the use of force unless Congress has declared war or authorized military force.

The Hill added that Trump notified Congress of the military operations in Iran on March 2, making Friday the 60-day milestone when the War Powers Act requires the president to start winding down a war unless he receives congressional authorization.

Several outlets also emphasized that the statute allows a 30-day extension to ensure safe withdrawal, but that the administration has not yet sought it in the way Democrats demand.

At the center of the dispute is what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing and how Democrats responded in real time.

The Hill reported that Hegseth argued the 60-day clock stopped when Trump announced a ceasefire on April 7, and it quoted Hegseth saying, “We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.”

The Hill also captured Kaine’s immediate rebuttal: “I do not believe the statute would support that,” and it said Kaine warned that “I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow.”

Politico similarly described Hegseth’s assertion as a broad claim that American troops can remain at war with Iran indefinitely without congressional authorization because of the ceasefire, and it quoted Kaine’s warning that “This is going to pose a really important legal question for the administration.”

Scripps News described the same exchange, with Kaine asking whether the administration would seek a 30-day extension and Hegseth responding that the administration believes “the 60-day clock pauses or stops” during a halt in fighting.

Not all outlets framed the ceasefire the same way, but several reported that Republicans were watching for a formal justification, with Josh Hawley saying, “The right way to make that argument to Congress would be to put that in writing and send that up to us.”

The argument is also tied to what the U.S. is still doing militarily even if bombing has paused, because Notus and Politico both noted ongoing actions such as the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

As the Friday deadline approached, Congress and the Trump administration moved through a sequence of war powers votes that Democrats said were meant to force congressional oversight, while Republicans largely rejected them.

TRT World said Democrats urged Republicans to help end the conflict, quoting Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer: “After we cross that 60-day threshold, there can be no more doubts that he's violating the War Powers Act.”

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TRT World also described Democrats’ repeated efforts to pass resolutions and said “Senators voted on Thursday to reject a resolution aimed at curbing Trump's authority,” framing it as the latest in a series of failed attempts.

Time Magazine reported that the Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic-led effort to force removal of U.S. forces from Iran, with the procedural measure failing 47 to 50, and it said Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky were the only Republicans breaking with their party.

Time Magazine also noted that it was the first time Collins had voted for such a measure since the war began in late February, and it quoted Collins saying, “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.”

The Hill described Thursday’s vote as the sixth attempt, and it quoted Schumer’s press release language that “Donald Trump and his administration are endangering the lives of servicemembers and spending billions on an illegal war that is not supported by the majority of Americans.”

CBS News similarly described how Republicans in the House and Senate blocked “more than half a dozen Democratic war powers resolutions” since the start of the war, while some GOP members indicated their stance could change after the statutory 60-day deadline.

The stakes described across the coverage are both legal and operational, with the ceasefire dispute shaping whether Congress can force a change in U.S. policy before the deadline.

Reuters, via The Times of Israel, said ending the war appeared highly unlikely and that the conflict had “lapsed into a standoff over shipping routes,” with analysts expecting Trump to either notify Congress of a 30-day extension or disregard the deadline.

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The Times of Israel also reported that Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for fresh military strikes on Iran to compel it to negotiate an end to the conflict, and it said Iran warned that if Washington renewed attacks it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on US positions.

CNBC described the Friday deadline as threatening to halt U.S. military operations against Iran, while also reporting that Hegseth suggested the ceasefire nullifies that cutoff date, and it quoted Susan Collins saying the deadline “is not a suggestion; it is a requirement.”

CNBC also reported that Trump said the blockade is “genius” and that Iran’s economy “is really in trouble,” and it described a deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran’s “de facto stoppage of ship traffic” and the U.S. “retaliatory naval blockade of Iranian ports.”

CBS News said the ceasefire has been mostly paused since April 8 to allow for talks, and it described how Democrats plan to keep forcing votes to put Republicans on the record regarding a war that polls show is unpopular.

With the legal deadline looming and negotiations stalled, the next step described by the sources is either a congressional authorization path, a 30-day extension notification, or continued operations under the administration’s ceasefire interpretation.