President Donald Trump met Wednesday with Republican senators on Capitol Hill, in a session originally meant to advance the party’s SAVE America voting and election rules bill. Instead, the gathering quickly turned into a tense argument over the war in Iran after Trump angrily criticized lawmakers from his own party for joining Democrats on a resolution that would limit his military powers.
During the exchange, Trump pressed the senators on why any Republican would support curbing his authority to conduct the war. Senator Bill Cassidy, who previously lost an election to a Trump-backed opponent, pushed back and told him, “Mr. President, you haven’t told the American people what is going on. The war was supposed to last four weeks, and it has already lasted four months. The original goals have not been achieved, and I want to know what is going on.”
People in the room said the confrontation became loud and intense, rating it around “7 out of 10.” One attendee compared the scene to “two kids on a break yelling at each other because of a foul on a basketball court.” Trump later tried to downplay the clash, saying, “We had a great meeting. We love everyone in the room. I don’t like some people, but that’s okay. I think you know who they are.”
Despite Trump’s remarks, Republican senators continued expressing frustration over the lack of transparency around the understanding reached with Iran last week. The meeting came just hours after Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing package, which Republicans had viewed as an important political win ahead of upcoming elections. The dispute underscored growing tensions inside the party as the Iran war, originally expected to be brief, drags on.
