Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the 60-day legal clock governing unauthorized war with Iran can be paused during a ceasefire. The claim, delivered on day 62 of the US-Israel military campaign, directly challenges the 1973 War Powers Act. Senator Tim Kaine immediately pushed back. “I don’t believe the statute would support that,” he said.
The exchange marked the most direct legal confrontation yet over a conflict that has already cost American taxpayers $25 billion. That figure, disclosed by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, does not clearly account for damage to US assets in the Middle East. The war began on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Hegseth’s interpretation landed with force. The law is blunt. It requires a president to end unauthorized military action within 60 days of notifying Congress.
Trump sent that notification on February 27. The deadline arrives Friday. Instead of seeking a vote, the administration now argues the clock stopped during a tentative pause in fighting that began April 8. “The 60-day clock pauses, or stops,” Hegseth said.
The language of the War Powers Act contains no such provision. Legal scholars have long debated the statute's rigidity. None have publicly advanced Hegseth’s specific theory.
Senator Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, did not hide his disbelief. He accused Hegseth of telling the president “what he wants to hear, instead of what he needs to hear.”
Reed went further. He said Hegseth was “causing lasting harm to the military.”
Those words hung in the air. The secretary did not flinch. He has made a habit of attacking his critics.
On Thursday, he called Democratic lawmakers “reckless naysayers” whose “defeatist words” aid America’s enemies. It was a repeat of his Wednesday performance before the House. The rhetoric is sharpening.
The legal ground is shifting. Behind the political theater lies a logistical strain. The New York Times reported last week that the war has forced the military to surge long-range stealth missiles and Patriot interceptors from other regions.
Hegseth insisted the stockpile remains “in good shape.” Some lawmakers do not believe him. They worry about US vulnerability in the Pacific and Europe. Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican, pressed on whether the Pentagon can still protect civilians.
The question cut to a deeper wound. Prior to the war, the Pentagon quietly gutted the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence. The office was designed to learn from the catastrophic civilian toll of the “global war on terror.” Staffing was drained.
Then came the strike on a girls’ school in Minab. Details remain scarce. The image is indelible.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand asked Hegseth directly about targeting that destroys schools and hospitals. “Why did you cut by 90 percent the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians?” she asked. Hegseth maintained the department retains “every resource necessary.”
The answer satisfied few in the room. General Dan Cain, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, offered a rare glimpse into a shadow war within the war. He acknowledged Russian assistance to Iran. “There’s definitely some action there,” Cain said, before retreating behind the closed-door setting for details.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin had voiced support for Tehran just days earlier, meeting Iran’s foreign minister in St. Petersburg. The admission was glancing.
It was also significant. Moscow and Tehran have traded weapons for years. Concrete battlefield cooperation marks an escalation.
Cain’s words suggest it is happening. The human cost inside Iran is mounting. The Minab strike is not an isolated incident.
Reports of civilian deaths have multiplied since February. The Pentagon’s reduced oversight capacity means fewer internal checks on targeting decisions. The policy says one thing.
The reality says another. For a family in Hormozgan province, the distinction is meaningless. A school is a school.
A bomb is a bomb. The war’s architects in Washington debate legal clocks. Parents in Minab bury their children.
Hegseth’s bellicosity masks a strategic fog. The ceasefire talks have stalled. The US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.
Trump threatens renewed attacks. No clear endgame has been articulated. The $25 billion price tag will grow.
Why It Matters: Hegseth’s legal theory would fundamentally alter the balance of war powers between Congress and the presidency. If a president can pause the 60-day clock by simply halting active combat while maintaining a blockade, the War Powers Act becomes optional. Future presidents of either party could wage indefinite war without a vote.
The economic consequences ripple outward. The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. A protracted naval blockade raises global energy prices.
American families feel it at the pump. The $25 billion spent so far is money not spent on domestic infrastructure, schools, or healthcare. The trade-off is real.
Key takeaways from two days of testimony: - The Pentagon has spent $25 billion on the Iran war, with no clear accounting for asset damage or a defined endgame. - Hegseth claims the War Powers Act’s 60-day clock can pause during a ceasefire, a theory rejected by the top Democrat on the committee and unsupported by the statute’s text. - Russia is providing concrete assistance to Iran in the conflict, a rare public admission from the US military’s highest-ranking officer. - Civilian protection offices were gutted before the war, and a strike on a girls’ school has intensified scrutiny of the Pentagon’s targeting processes. What comes next is a constitutional stress test. Friday marks day 60.
The White House shows no sign of seeking congressional authorization. Lawmakers could force the issue. A lawsuit is possible.
So is a funding cutoff. Neither is likely in a divided Congress. The more immediate pressure point is the stalled ceasefire.
If talks collapse and bombing resumes, Hegseth’s paused clock starts ticking again. The legal fiction collapses. The war enters uncharted territory.
Watch for whether any Republican senators break ranks. Watch for new reporting on Russian involvement. Watch the price of oil.
Key Takeaways
— - The Pentagon has spent $25 billion on the Iran war, with no clear accounting for asset damage or a defined endgame.
— - Hegseth claims the War Powers Act’s 60-day clock can pause during a ceasefire, a theory rejected by the top Democrat on the committee and unsupported by the statute’s text.
— - Russia is providing concrete assistance to Iran in the conflict, a rare public admission from the US military’s highest-ranking officer.
— - Civilian protection offices were gutted before the war, and a strike on a girls’ school has intensified scrutiny of the Pentagon’s targeting processes.
Source: Al Jazeera
