Topline
President Donald Trump reportedly ranted at Senate Republicans on Wednesday in a contentious meeting amid a stalemate over the Iran war and the Senate’s inability to pass a law requiring proof of ID to vote—though Trump denied any fractures in the party after the heated lunch.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the Senate Republicans’ lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Key Facts
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NOTUS he and Trump “went back and forth” when Cassidy told the president “‘you have not told the American people what’s going on. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what’s going on.”
Cassidy said Trump “did not particularly care for” his comments and “raised his voice.”
At one point, Trump called Cassidy a “lunatic” and Cassidy refused to refer to Trump as “Mr. President,” instead calling him “brother,” CNN reported, citing an unnamed source.
Cassidy, who was ousted in a recent primary by a Trump-backed challenger, is one of four Republicans who voted Tuesday to stop Trump from continuing the Iran war without congressional approval.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Punchbowl News, “voices were raised” when asked about the conversation between Cassidy and Trump, describing the meeting “very much like a hospital board meeting when a bunch of doctors are yelling at each other.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., another one of the four Republican senators who voted for the War Powers Resolution, sarcastically told Punchbowl News after the meeting there was “lots of unity, lots of Republican love on Republican love.”
Tangent
Trump also criticized Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., for missing Tuesday’s vote on the War Powers Resolution, though the measure still would have passed even if McCormick voted against it, and he urged Thune to pass the SAVE America Act by any means necessary, MS NOW reported, citing an unnamed source.
Contra
Trump said they had “a really great meeting” in comments to reporters, flanked by GOP leaders. He said “we like everybody really in the room, I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK, I think you know who they are,” insisting, “for the most part we have a really well-unified party.”
Key Background
Trump on Wednesday said he’s refusing to sign a housing affordability bill passed a day earlier if Republicans don’t pass the voter ID law, known as the SAVE (Safeguard American Voting Eligibility) Act. The legislation has been stalled in the Senate for several months as it’s been unable to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold since the House passed the bill in February. The bill is highly controversial as it requires voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote—documents critics say could block election accessibility and isn’t necessary since non-citizens are already ineligible to vote. The housing bill Trump blocked hours before he was set to sign it into law, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support. The housing bill aims to make it easier and faster to build more affordable housing and expand access to home ownership, including by increasing some mortgage limits and removing some federal regulations on new construction. The dispute is the latest break between Republicans in Congress and Trump, who also said he wouldn’t authorize the extension of a federal surveillance program if the SAVE Act didn’t pass. Multiple Republicans, including Cassidy, have also criticized his deal with Iran to end military hostilities, his now-stalled $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and his attempt to seek $1 billion in security funding for Trump’s ballroom project.
further reading
Senate Votes To Stop Trump From Continuing Iran War Without Congressional Approval (Forbes)
Trump Refuses To Sign Housing Affordability Bill Until Congress Passes Voter ID Law (Forbes)
Some Republicans Finally Express Support For Trump’s Iran Deal—Without Praising It (Forbes)