Senate Republicans hold new vote on war powers after Trump berated them
at Capitol meeting
[June 25, 2026]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, STEVEN SLOAN, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and
LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans who were berated by President
Donald Trump on Wednesday over opposition to his war in Iran held a
late-night vote to try to appease him, voting down a war powers
resolution a day after a similar measure passed.
Trump harangued GOP senators face to face earlier in the day for
allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating
a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year
affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a
halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill
Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the
measure.
Hours later, though, Cassidy received a personal briefing on the war at
the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff and
returned to the Capitol to vote against a separate war powers
resolution. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has repeatedly
voted with Democrats to halt the war, voted present this time “to give
the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace,” he
said on X. The measure failed 47-50-1.
“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the
thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran. I appreciate the quick
invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” said
Cassidy, who lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his
opponent, in a post on X.
It's unclear whether the move will be enough to appease Trump, who had
called the Republicans “losers" for voting against his war and had
called Cassidy a “lunatic” at the lunch after their tense exchange. But
the vote was a clear signal to the president from Republican senators
who still want to placate him, despite increasing tensions in recent
weeks and his decision Wednesday morning to reverse himself and delay
signing a housing bill that received overwhelming bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and a small group of his
Senate GOP colleagues called Trump after the vote. Thune said the
president was “pleased with the outcome."
Trump later thanked Thune in a social media post and noted that Cassidy
and Paul had switched their votes. “This vote puts Iran on notice!” he
wrote.
Cassidy had sharp words for Trump
Invited by Florida Sen. Rick Scott to speak at a GOP luncheon in the
Capitol, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the
closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship
voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote on
war powers, a mostly symbolic measure that allows Congress to rebuke the
administration’s military actions. The House had passed its own version
of the resolution earlier this month.
Most Republicans stayed quiet. But Cassidy, who lost reelection in his
primary last month after Trump endorsed an opponent, stood up and
defended his vote.
“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going
on,’” Cassidy told reporters after the meeting. “This was supposed to
last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have
not been achieved.”
The two men “went back and forth,” Cassidy said, and he “matched his
tone and volume." Cassidy said that he eventually de-escalated, but he
did not want to be bullied.
“I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing,” he said afterward.
Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person
familiar with the private meeting who was not authorized to discuss it.
At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic."
Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had “a really great meeting."
But he hinted at the discord.
“We like everyone in the room," Trump told reporters on his way out. "I
don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”
The luncheon capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate
Republicans and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday's vote was
the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the
Iran war. Trump made clear he was in no mood to compromise before it
even started, calling off a scheduled signing ceremony on a housing bill
that passed both chambers overwhelmingly this week and that GOP
lawmakers were touting as an election-year achievement.
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President Donald Trump, escorted by Senate Majority Leader John
Thune, R-S.D., heads to a meeting with Senate Republicans at the
Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott
Applewhite)
Trump reverses on housing bill
Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the
president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump
upended their plans when he declared on social media just beforehand
that he wouldn't sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE
America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all
voters.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he doesn't know why Trump is
holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will
never pass in this Congress.”
“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said as he walked into the
luncheon.
Thune said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is
“an affordability issue,” and that ”eventually I hope he finds a way
to sign it.”
It's unclear if Trump might veto the legislation or if the late
Wednesday night vote will change his outlook. But by rejecting a
public bill signing, Republicans worry that Trump is indicating a
level of indifference to voters’ affordability concerns heading into
November’s midterm elections.
Trump and Senate Republicans have been at odds
Trump's move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks
of being at odds with Senate Republicans.
Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own
nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom
project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war
even as they question the strategy and endgame.
Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate
after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were
previously reliable votes for his agenda — Cassidy and Texas Sen.
John Cornyn. Both men have become more critical of Trump since
losing reelection.
“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the
same page,” Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same
page now, and that I think is dangerous.”
Trump pushes Thune on SAVE America Act
Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate
filibuster and focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even
though Thune has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes.
While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the
president, he has spent much of his time lately telling Trump what
he doesn’t want to hear. Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and
some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s
just not realistic.”
Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this
year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there
aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60-vote
threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are
uniformly opposed to the bill.
“I think people at some point have to come to grips with that,”
Thune said.
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Kevin Freking contributed to
this report.
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