Massie: Hegseth is breaking law with Iran war

Republican Representative Thomas Massie accused Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth of breaking the law by continuing US military operations against Iran without congressional authorisation. He argued that the administration is wrongly treating a brief ceasefire as dividing the conflict into two separate wars, a distinction that could affect statutory limits on unauthorised hostilities.

Massie’s comments followed reports that four service members killed after April’s ceasefire had been removed from the Pentagon’s public casualty count; the Pentagon cited temporary data issues. The War Powers Resolution generally requires unauthorised military involvement to end within 60 days, with up to 30 extra days for withdrawal; the conflict began on 28 February. On the same day, the House passed a non-binding measure limiting President Trump’s war powers, 214–208, while the Senate rejected a binding resolution, 47–49.