Op-ed / Commentary By: Craig Andresen and Diane Sori / Right Side Patriots
On February 28th, 2026, President Donald Trump began what no U.S. President had the courage to do over the past 47 years – he began military action against the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. In concert with Israel, over the past two months, the radical Islamic regime’s military assets have been pounded into the dirt, pounded to the bottom of the sea, and eliminated from the air. The ranks of the regime’s leadership have been decimated, and their ability to continue striking Israel, their neighbors and U.S. forces has been severely weakened, but not completely eliminated.
Likewise, the Iranian regime’s ability to rearm, resupply and finance their proxy armies has also been severely damaged, but not completely eliminated, and the regime’s hold over the Strait of Hormuz, which they rely upon for shipping oil, their primary source of income has slipped away and is now all but controlled by the U.S. and a naval blockade.
But this war is not over. Unless and until whatever remains of the Iranian regime has been driven out…out of power, out of Iran and/or permanently eliminated, the threat to Israel, the Middle East, Europe and indeed to the United States still exists.
Here is the problem – The War Powers Resolution.
By the letter of the Resolution, not the law, it stipulates that a U.S. President can undertake military action for a period of sixty days after informing congress of said action within 48 hours of the beginning of said action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.
The War Powers Resolution was adopted in 1973. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States congressional joint resolution and therefore carries the full weight of law. In this case, 50 U.S.C. ch. 33. But there is a major debate surrounding it. Is it constitutional? Every single president since its enactment has argued that it violates the separation of powers by infringing on their role as Commander-in-Chief. To be clear, the United States Supreme Court has never taken up the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution so the question remains unanswered – Is it constitutional? That however, is not the only question. The other involves the 60-90 day timeline.
At best, that timeline is arbitrary. At worst, it is insane and may well be unconstitutional in and of itself. Under such a stipulation, all that an advisory would need to do is hunker down and hold on for 60-90 days unless congress, which let’s just be honest here, declares war which congress has not done since WWII.
With that, let’s get back to the current situation regarding Iran. President Trump launched military action against Iran on February, 28th, 2026. The 60 day clock started ticking when he informed congress on March, 2nd, 2026. That means that the 60 day window starts closing on May 2nd, 2026, and slams shut 30 days later, on June 1st, 2026…unless congress authorizes further action, which at this point seems…unlikely.
A conundrum indeed, with the question(s) now being what happens next? Will President Trump ignore the 1973“War Powers Resolution”…simply a check on executive power...and continue the war on his terms alone; will he try get Congress to officially authorize further military action; or will he attempt to fast track his case for continuing said war to the Supreme Court? Only time itself will tell for the now extended ceasefire…a ceasefire the Iranians have broken by their firing upon ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz…does end this week.
So here let’s look at three possible options.
Option One: If President Trump were to simply ignore the latest proposed “War Powers Resolution,” Congress would then be forced into a debate over whether to rein in Trump’s what they deem to be an “unchecked use” of military force, which could then see our country being thrown into a Constitutional crisis, but only if Congress were to pass the latest Democrat attempt at a “War Powers Resolution.” But that’s a mute point, for on Wednesday, April 15th, the Senate rejected the Democrats latest efforts at a “resolution” to force Trump to end U.S. military involvement in Iran, and the following day so too did the House. This latest failed “War Powers Resolution” basically negates what the Democrats hoped would be the curbing of Trump’s authority to continue the war without Congressional approval. So, logic then dictates that if there is no acting “resolution” in place, there is no need for Trump to ignore what does not exist.
Option Two: As for Trump needing Congressional approval to continue the war with Iran, there could be a way to override that as well. How so? While the original 1973 “War Powers Resolution” was designed to prevent prolonged military engagement without Congressional approval…presidents of both parties have questioned its actual Constitutionality. Why so…because Congress has never successfully compelled let alone initiated a withdrawal under its provisions with or without a timeline withdrawal in place. In other words, just because a “resolution” is in place does not mean it meets the letter of the law.,,which leads directly into Trump’s third option.
Option Three: This option is probably unlikely due to the time element involved, but it would help settle both the “resolution’s” legality and time frame issues. Simply, if Trump were to ask the SCOTUS to fast tract his case for continuing the war with Iran without Congressional approval by presenting as fact that past presidents have increasingly relied on “executive authority” to conduct “military operations”…“war” with but a different name and a vastly longer time frame then the current 60 to 90 days war with Iran… and did so without a formal Congressional “Declarations of War” by Trump then citing Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and our 20-year long “undeclared war” with Afghanistan…maybe then this game of word semantics the Democrats are playing would come to an end, and we could finish the job Trump intended to do.
And if none of the options we presented come to fruition, after all the Democrats do not want us to win nor do they want the Iranian people to be free…if they were illegals it would be a completely different story…then we say let our bombs fall over Iran until the second the time frame runs out, and then let Israel finish the job that we all know needs to be done.
Copyright © 2026 BY Craig Andrtesen and Diane Sori / Right Side Patriots / All rights reserved.
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