Thune: Trump has authority to extend Iran strikes beyond 60 days

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday that President Trump has all the power he needs under the Constitution to conduct military strikes beyond the 60-day window set by the War Powers Act, something that will come up for a Senate vote this week.

Thune disputed the interpretation of some Senate colleagues that the 1973 War Powers Act requires the president to receive an authorization for use of military force for military operations that extend past 60 days.

Asked if Trump needs Congress’s permission to carry out strikes into May, Thune responded emphatically: “No.”

“I think the president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently underway there,” Thune told reporters. “As you know, there’s a lot of controversy around, questions around the War Powers Act but I think the president is acting in the best interests of the nation and our national security interests by ensuring that he’s protecting Americans and American bases and installations in the region as well as those of our allies.”

Thune’s view reflects a growing sense that the military operations may stretch for weeks or months longer after Trump said the assault could last for four to five weeks and didn’t rule out putting boots on the ground.

Republican lawmakers hope the military operation will be wrapped up quickly but they acknowledge it’s difficult to predict its duration, which could well depend on whether Iran continues to attack U.S. military bases and allies in the region.

The Defense Intelligence Agency estimated in a 2019 report that Iran’s “substantial arsenal of ballistic missiles is designed to overwhelm U.S. forces and our partners in the region,” suggesting that wiping out Iran’s weapons caches may turn out to be a lengthy process.

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