Admin mum on whether Trump will seek to legalize Iran war

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer, arrive for the House Armed Services Committee hearing on April 29, 2026. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images It’s been two months since the U.S. began strikes on Iran without authorization from Congress, so the clock is about to run out on the legal amount of time a president has to carry out a military operation without congressional approval. But the administration has given no indications they hope to make Operation Epic Fury legal.Asked during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday whether an authorization or extension request are coming, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demurred, arguing that the current ceasefire with Iran has paused the 30-day clock.“I do not believe the statute supports that,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Hegseth. “We have serious constitutional concerns and we don’t want to layer those with additional statutory concerns.”A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request from Defense One to clarify whether the president has asked Congress to vote on an authorization for use of force in Iran, or whether he will submit a written request for a 30-day extension that would give troops time to withdraw.One or the other