WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump said he does not need congressional authorization to continue military operations against Iran. He argued that past U.S. commanders-in-chief did not seek congressional approval before continuing military conflicts.

"So many presidents, as you know, have gone and exceeded it," Trump said of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. "It's never been used. It's never been adhered to."

The resolution requires the president to terminate any use of United States Armed Forces in Iran 60 days after notifying Congress of the start of military action unless Congress votes to continue the conflict. The law was passed in response to President Richard Nixon's conduct in the Vietnam War to limit the president's ability to continue military action without congressional approval.

The administration notified Congress of strikes against Tehran on Feb. 28. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the 60-day deadline clock paused when the current ceasefire went into effect. He said the Iran hostilities have been shorter than the Vietnam War, which lasted 19 years, the Iraq War at nearly nine years, World War Two at six years and the Korean War at three years.

Previous administrations have taken varied approaches to the resolution. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan received congressional approval to deploy U.S. Marines to Lebanon within the 60-day notification window. President George H. W. Bush sought congressional authorization for the 1991 Gulf War before launching Operation Desert Storm, while arguing that congressional approval was not required. President George W. Bush obtained congressional approval for military operations in Afghanistan in 2001 and in Iraq in 2003.

The 1999 U.S. bombing campaign in Kosovo under President Bill Clinton lasted 78 days without congressional authorization. President Barack Obama argued that the 2011 U.S. military campaign in Libya did not qualify as "hostilities" under the War Powers Resolution and continued it past the 60-day window without congressional approval. The NATO-led intervention in Libya lasted more than seven months. Obama also said, "It's harder to end wars than it is to begin them."

David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, disputed the reasoning behind Trump's position. "Just because other presidents haven't invoked it doesn't mean that what Trump is doing here is correct," Schultz said. "Here, Trump has basically committed us to combat without any support from Congress."

"And if we go back to the founding of this country, go back 1776, 1787, one of the fears that our framers had was strong executives committing us to wars without the support of the legislative branch," he said. The United States and Iran remain deadlocked over control of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.