By Week’s End, Trump’s War Will Be Plainly Illegal

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By Week’s End, Trump’s War Will Be Plainly Illegal

April 27, 2026,

5:02 a.m. ET

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Damon Winter/The New York Times

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By

Erwin Chemerinsky

Mr. Chemerinsky is the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley.

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President Trump’s war with Iran is almost certainly illegal: Congress hasn’t declared war or authorized it by statute, and it wasn’t precipitated by an imminent attack or a national emergency. If the war continues through Friday without congressional approval, it will clearly be illegal, having passed the 60-day threshold and the 48-hour notice period that the president is given, under the

War Powers Resolution of 1973

, to conduct this kind of military operation.

Whether you support or oppose this war — or, as Mr. Trump has called it, this “

excursion

” — time will be up. And it is the obligation of the federal courts to say so.

The resolution, often called the War Powers Act, was adopted during the Vietnam War. It applies when American troops are engaged in hostilities or in situations in which hostilities are impending — such as during this war with Iran.

Despite Mr. Trump’s saying, on Thursday, “

Don’t rush me

” regarding the war’s timeline, the act requires that the president withdraw our military from participation in hostilities after 60 days unless Congress has declared war, has authorized a 60-day extension or is physically unable to meet as a result of an armed attack against the United States. The president can extend this by 30 days if he certifies to Congress in writing that an “unavoidable military necessity” regarding the safety of our armed forces requires it.

The Iran war began on Feb. 28. For these purposes, the clock started running on March 2, when the president formally

notified

Congress of his military action against Iran. Congress has not declared war or done anything to authorize the war, and its refusal to do so in no way constitutes the requisite approval to continue the conflict — the War Powers Resolution doesn’t come with a check box for opting out.

If the president and Iran’s leaders don’t reach an agreement to end the war before the deadline, every indication is that Mr. Trump and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate will ignore the act. To try to justify continuing the war, there’s a good chance they’ll come up with some new form of legal-sounding double talk. If that’s the case, it will be left to the courts to uphold the law. Suits should be brought, including by service members and by members of Congress, to enforce it.

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