In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, House Speaker Mike Johnson said President Trump should have an additional 60 days to seek Congressional approval if war resumes.
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hoped Iranians would “come to their senses” as fighting escalated, but suggested President Donald Trump should start anew toward a legal deadline to get authorization for a military conflict from Congress if the delicate ceasefire continues to fail.
Under the War Powers Act, the president is legally required to withdraw troops from combat zones if Congress does not formally approve the deployment within 60 days. That deadline passed nearly two months ago, but no request came from President Trump on Capitol Hill.
The Trump administration argues that the ceasefire with Iran has stopped the clock, or stopped it altogether, eliminating the need for Congress to consider war. Johnson, a constitutional scholar, supported the government.
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY on June 29, he suggested that President Trump could reinstate the 60-day window for congressional approval if hostilities escalate significantly.
“We’re going to have to restart completely. We ended Operation Epic Fury many weeks ago and were in a period of peace,” Johnson said, although sporadic U.S. military attacks have continued in recent months. “We’re hoping that we can restore it so that there’s no active activity or continued war-like activity. We’ll see.”
Skirmishes between US and Iran continue as ceasefire remains uncertain
Amid strong public disapproval and growing dissatisfaction among members of both houses of Congress, President Trump has sought to scale back the war. But he has struggled to cement a long-term peace deal with Iran that meets all military objectives.
Twice in recent days, the United States has launched retaliatory strikes against Iran following drone attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump last week accused Iran of violating the cease-fire agreement and said in a social media post over the weekend that the United States could be “forced to carry out its mission militarily.”
Johnson told USA TODAY that Congressional leaders had been briefed hours earlier on the war by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy who has played a leading role in peace talks with Iran.
“They kept us updated on how things were looking and the very important negotiations, and they answered a lot of questions about what’s going on,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the call lasted about an hour and included Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees.
“We asked a lot of tough questions and got some good answers on this call,” Johnson added. “We’re going to hear a lot more about this, but like all Americans, members of Congress are watching this closely.”
President Trump launched the Iran war on February 28 without seeking Congressional approval, and his administration claimed in a memo that hostilities had “ended” with an April 7 ceasefire. But Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have pushed back, pressuring the administration to end the conflict as strikes and military presence continue in the region.
Both houses of Congress recently passed resolutions calling for an end to the war. The Senate then reversed its stance after President Trump censured members in session, and two Republicans changed their votes after a similar bill passed.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a point of contention
The United States and Iran have carried out military attacks in recent days, even though the two countries signed a preliminary peace agreement earlier this month.
The deal calls for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, but Iran wants continued control of the vital shipping lane, launching drone attacks against two commercial ships last week. The Trump administration retaliated with military strikes against Iran on June 26 and 27, and Iran also fired missiles at bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
President Trump complained of repeated ceasefire violations in a June 27 social media post, saying, “The day may come when we can no longer be rational and will be forced to carry out militarily the work we have successfully begun.”
“Then the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!” the president added.
President Trump said on Monday that peace talks would resume with a U.S. negotiator team scheduled to travel to Doha, Qatar, later this week. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner and Witkoff will travel to Doha for talks.
The economic impact of the Iran conflict is having a major impact on the upcoming midterm elections in which control of Congress will be at stake. The war has raised the price of gasoline and other goods, fueling inflation, and a Quinnipiac University poll released last week found that 60% of voters thought the conflict was not worth it.
Gas prices have begun to fall since an interim peace deal was announced, but the latest round of attacks threatens to disrupt shipping traffic through the strait, which carried 20% of the world’s oil before the war.
“We have high hopes that the Iranians will cease hostilities, come to their senses, and allow the Strait of Hormuz to remain open for commerce and work toward lasting peace,” Johnson told USA TODAY.
Contributor: Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY
