Trump berates Senate Republicans as Iran vote exposes party rift

Trump angrily confronted Senate Republicans after they backed a symbolic Iran war powers rebuke. The row, along with his housing bill ultimatum, exposed widening party strains before the midterms.

In Short

• Four Republican senators joined Democrats, exposing unease over Iran strategy
• Bill Cassidy openly challenged Trump, demanding fuller public briefings on objectives
• Trump linked signing the housing bill to his stalled voting proposal

President Donald Trump sharply criticised Senate Republicans at a closed-door lunch at the Capitol on Wednesday, after the Senate voted to allow a measure rebuking his military action in Iran. The meeting, which Republicans had hoped would ease tensions, instead highlighted the growing divide between Trump and members of his own party on the war, as well as on their wider election-year agenda.

The clash also spilled over into another priority for Republicans: a housing bill that lawmakers had presented as a response to affordability concerns. Just before the lunch, Trump said he would not sign the legislation until senators sent him the SAVE America Act, his proposal to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

Trump had been invited to speak at the Republican lunch by Florida Senator Rick Scott and had indicated that he would press senators to pass the voting bill. But much of the discussion centred on Tuesday's Senate vote to approve a war powers resolution on Iran. The measure is largely symbolic, but it gives Congress a way to rebuke the administration's military action. The House passed its own version earlier this month, and Tuesday's vote marked the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war.

Trump reserved particular criticism for four Republican senators who voted with Democrats on the measure: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. He had earlier called them "losers" on social media. Most Republicans stayed quiet during the meeting, but Cassidy stood up to defend his vote. "I stood and said, You have not told the American people what's going on," Cassidy told reporters later. "This was supposed to last four weeks, it's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved." Cassidy said the two men "went back and forth" and that he "matched his tone and volume" before eventually de-escalating because he did not want to be bullied. "I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing," he said afterwards.

According to a person familiar with the private meeting, Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down and at one point called him a "lunatic". In public, however, Trump described it as "a really great meeting". He also hinted at the disagreement, saying: "We like everyone in the room. I don't like a few people, but that's OK."

The lunch came after weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans. Before the meeting even began, Trump called off a planned signing ceremony for the housing bill, which had passed both chambers by wide margins this week. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said he did not know why Trump was holding the housing bill "hostage" for the voting bill, which "will never pass in this Congress". "It makes no sense to me," Tillis said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is "an affordability issue" and added, "eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it." It remains unclear whether Trump might veto the legislation.

The dispute over the housing bill was the latest in a series of disagreements. Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked lawmakers to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition, and pushed Senate Republicans to defend the Iran war even as some of them question its strategy and endgame. He has also strained support in the chamber by backing primary challengers against Republican incumbents, including Cassidy and Texas Senator John Cornyn. Ahead of the meeting, Cornyn said, "If we're going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page. We're not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous." After the lunch, Thune said, "It was kind of a one sided conversation."

The meeting underlined the widening differences between Trump and Senate Republicans, with the argument over Iran, the stalled housing bill and Trump's demand for the SAVE America Act all exposing strains inside the party ahead of the midterm elections.

With PTI Inputs

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