According to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to “declare” war. A law passed in 1973, however, allows the president to trigger a limited military intervention to respond to an emergency situation created by an attack against the United States.
The same text requires that the president, if he commits American troops for more than sixty days, obtain authorization from the legislative branch, different from a declaration of war.
The conflict with Iran began on February 28, but official notification from the White House to Congress regarding the start of hostilities did not come until two days later.
Friday therefore represents the sixty-day deadline to obtain authorization from parliamentarians to continue the conflict, otherwise Donald Trump would be obliged to withdraw American forces.
But his government argues the opposite. “We are in a ceasefire right now, which means – from our perspective – that the sixty-day clock is suspended,” Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
An argument rejected by the Democratic opposition. For Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, “Pete Hegseth cannot simply pause the countdown when American troops are still exposed to danger.”
Despite the ceasefire, the American Navy is still blockading the Strait of Hormuz. “For sixty days, Republicans have been twiddling their thumbs,” accused Chuck Schumer. “Well I say to my colleagues: time is up,” he added, calling on Republican senators to start speaking out against the war in Iran.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, Democrats have tried several times to pass a text providing for limiting Donald Trump’s military powers against Iran, in vain.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
