‘Clueless!’: While Trump Was Busy Telling Reporters He’s Above the Law, Hegseth Was Already in the Senate Accidentally Selling Him Out — and It Was a Total Disaster
President Donald Trump declared himself above the law on his Iran war — then his own defense chief Pete Hegseth walked into the Senate and accidentally blew his entire argument apart.
Trump on Friday, May 1, was asked whether he planned to ask for congressional approval to continue his war. It’s been 60 days since he launched an unapproved military campaign against Tehran without congressional approval in possible violation of the War Powers Resolution.
Under the 1973 resolution a president has two months to get the green light from Congress or ask for a 30-day extension and if not, he’s required to end the military engagement. The law was enacted to prevent exactly what is going on right now, a president taking the U.S. into a military conflict without the express consent of federal lawmakers.
In his response to the reporter, Trump denied he needs congressional approval.
“Nobody’s ever gotten it before. They consider it totally unconstitutional, but we’re always in touch with Congress. But nobody’s ever sought it before or asked for it before. It’s never been used before. Why should we be different?” a duplicitous Trump insisted.
Although World War II was the last time Congress officially declared war, former President George W. Bush asked for congressional authorization for the War on Terror after 9/11 in 2001 and got it.
Congress also passed a resolution for his father George H.W. Bush’s Gulf War in 1991
The War Powers Resolution, in fact, was enacted because presidents across multiple administrations did not seek congressional approval for the Vietnam War, which lasted almost 20 years.
Then Hegseth took a stunning and completely different tack during testimony before a Senate committee on Thursday, April 30. The top U.S. military official told lawmakers that a ceasefire means there’s also a pause on the War Powers Resolution deadline for congressional approval.
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“We are in a ceasefire right now, which to our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” Hegseth astonishingly said with a straight face, either hoping senators might believe if there’s a ceasefire then a war has ended or he was banking on their ignorance.
Virginia Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine didn’t fall for it.
“We’re right at the 60-day deadline. Is the president intending to either seek congressional authorization or send us the legally required certification that he needs an additional 30 days to remove U.S. forces from the war?” Kaine pushed back.
“On Iran, ultimately, I would defer to the White House and White House counsel on that. However, we are in a ceasefire right now which our understanding means that the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire. It’s our understanding just so you know,” Hegseth talked over Kaine who issued the former Fox News host a warning.
“I do not believe the statute would support that. I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow and it’s going to pose a really important legal question for the administration. We have serious constitutional concerns and we don’t want to layer those with additional statutory concerns,” Kaine shot back.
While Trump was busy denying he needed congressional approval to take the U.S. into a war, Hegseth seemed to contradict Trump by acknowledging the requirements of the War Powers Resolution and the putting it off on Trump.
A backlash against Trump and Hegseth quickly engulfed social media with angry posters pointing out the obvious and offering up their own take.
“He has a majority in both houses and he’s still afraid they won’t do what he says,” a Threads user noted.
Another used a quote by Abraham Lincoln to make his point. “We the people are the rightful master of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
An X user used a sarcastic observation to make their point. “’This is MY Middle East quagmire and no one’s going to take it away from me!!’ What a f-ckin moron.”
User Dark Star noted, “9 weeks and counting from Trump’s ‘4-6’ week timeline….Keep it up Trump right into October…See how those mid-terms go.
Another put it this way, “He’s clueless. He’s just making s*** up as he goes along.”
Trump launched an unauthorized war on Iran on Feb. 28 with shifting justifications, objectives and an endgame. He repeatedly said he expected the military campaign to last four to six weeks even as that deadline long expired.
As a fragile ceasefire remains in place, Trump has tried to negotiate with the Iranian regime to end the conflict with no luck and has instead blockaded Iranian ships transiting out of the critical Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran shut down almost immediately after Trump launched the attack.
The shutdown has caused global energy prices to spike with the average price of gas in the U.S. spiking 33 cents to week to $4.39 a gallon, according to Triple A. It was $4.05 a gallon a week ago and under $2.00 a gallon in some places in February before Trump’s war.