The long unanswered question of the War Powers Act’s constitutionality

The Trump administration maintains that as of Tuesday, the ceasefire with Iran is still in effect and, as a result, they are not up against the War Powers Act’s 60-day deadline.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth affirmed in a Tuesday morning briefing that the deal is still in place and previously told lawmakers that the “60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” which the White House quickly supported.

Despite his stance about the ceasefire, which President Donald Trump announced on April 7, U.S. Navy vessels were shot at on Monday and subsequently retaliated by blowing up several Iranian small boats. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran carried out attacks on nine commercial vessels, seized two container ships, and attempted more than 10 attacks targeting U.S. forces, though he said these instances were “all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.”