Trump facing his own deadline on Iran as anxious Republicans fall out of 'lockstep'
Donald Trump's apocalyptic threat — "A whole civilization will die tonight" — if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz is facing a different kind of pressure: his own party is running out of patience and preparing to invoke constitutional limits on his war powers.
According to The Hill, GOP lawmakers are increasingly restless as the conflict drags on, and Trump faces a critical 6-day window before Congress could force a showdown vote on war powers authority.
The political ground is shifting beneath Trump's feet. The Iran operation is unfolding at a precarious moment for Republicans, as the midterm election season intensifies and segments of the MAGA base grow increasingly angry over perceived abandonment of the "America First" agenda. Trump promised this would last four to five weeks. Instead, he has escalated tensions, threatened strikes on Iran's infrastructure, and hasn't ruled out U.S. ground troops — moves that risk entrenching America in a prolonged conflict.
GOP lawmakers are now falling out of "lockstep" with Trump and are now drawing a line in the sand: 60 days.
"Constitutional limits are in place to temper the president from unilateral authority. I support the president's actions taken in defense of American lives and interests. However, I will not support ongoing military action beyond a 60-day window without congressional approval," Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) wrote in an op-ed on April 1.
Curtis invoked the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which "limits the president's period of time to respond to 'emerging threats.'" A 60-day window, he argued, "is a fully sufficient window for presidents to take emergency measures in response to a national threat and then remit a decision to the duly elected representatives of the people as to whether a state of war should in fact be declared and continued."
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) signaled he'd consider voting on a war powers resolution if the conflict extends beyond 60 days. "I do think Iran has been a threat for 47 years, and they've killed roughly a thousand Americans. But I'd consider the resolution," Bacon told The Hill. He added that he hopes the conflict ends quickly, but "the enemy has a vote."
Public opinion is overwhelmingly against continuation. In a CNN poll released last week, 66 percent of respondents said they either "somewhat disapprove" or "strongly disapprove" of the U.S. military action in Iran.
Frustration is mounting across the GOP conference. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has already declared she won't support Trump's requested $200 billion supplemental funding package for the Pentagon.
"I've already told leadership, 'I am a no on any war supplementals,'" Boebert told CNN's Manu Raju. "I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I am tired of the industrial war complex getting all of our hard-earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who can't afford to live."