Trump: Iran Ceasefire Stops 60-Day War Powers Clock
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- Trump formally informed Congress in a Friday letter that the ongoing Iran ceasefire extended the timeline between the start of the war and the 60-day deadline invoked by the War Powers Act, with Friday marking 60 days since U.S. military operations in Iran began Feb. 28.
- Trump also announced Friday he will increase auto tariffs on the European Union, accusing the bloc of not complying with a prior trade deal.
- Trump on Friday also suggested the War Powers Act is unconstitutional — described as a new argument from the administration — while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about the conflict exceeding the statutory time limit; the House and Senate were out Friday.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued in a Senate hearing Thursday that the 60-day clock stopped when the U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire that has been ongoing for weeks.
- Trump told reporters Friday he was not satisfied with Iran's latest proposal, and at a Florida event suggested "maybe we're better off not making a deal at all" because the process has "been going on too long."
- Trump signed an executive order expanding sanctions on the Cuban government to target its affiliates, and joked at a dinner that the U.S. will "be taking over" Cuba "almost immediately," musing he might send the USS Abraham Lincoln there on its way back from Iran.
Why it matters: Reaching the 60-day War Powers Act deadline with a novel constitutional challenge from the president puts Congress's war-authority role directly in conflict with the executive branch's Iran timeline. Layering an EU auto tariff hike and new Cuba sanctions onto the same day signals the administration is using the Iran distraction to advance unrelated trade and regime-pressure agendas simultaneously.
