A ‘Cease-Fire’ Does Not Stop the Clock on the War Powers Act

If hostile actors tried to blockade American ports, do you think we’d regard it as an act of war?

The question arises because of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarkable assertion in Senate testimony this week that the Trump administration need not heed the 1973 War Powers Act’s 60-day limit on military action absent congressional approval because the so-called cease-fire has stopped the statutory clock.