Senate GOP blocks war powers resolution after Trump
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- Senate Republicans rejected a second war powers resolution on the Iran war 47-50-1 just before midnight Wednesday, a day after the Senate passed a nearly identical measure that drew Trump's fury.
- Trump confronted GOP senators at a closed-door luncheon, calling Sen. Bill Cassidy a "lunatic" after Cassidy defended his Tuesday vote with Democrats and told Trump he had not told Americans "what's going on" about a war "supposed to last four weeks" that has lasted four months.
- Cassidy received an afternoon briefing from VP JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House, then returned to the Capitol and voted against Wednesday's resolution, saying on X he appreciated the chance to "address many of my concerns."
- Sen. Rand Paul switched from voting with Democrats to voting "present," saying he wanted to give Trump "more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace."
- Trump reversed himself Wednesday morning and refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill until the Senate passes his SAVE America Act proof-of-citizenship voting measure, a bill Majority Leader Thune says lacks the votes to clear the 60-vote filibuster.
- Thune called Trump after the vote; Trump posted on social media that "This vote puts Iran on notice!" while Thune told reporters the president was "pleased with the outcome."
- The Senate then departed for a two-week recess, leaving both the housing bill standoff and the underlying GOP frustration over the Iran war unresolved.
Why it matters: The vote preserves Trump's authority to continue the Iran war, but the underlying caucus fractures aren't healed: Cassidy said after the luncheon he remains "voting for war powers until I get a briefing," and Sen. Cornyn warned colleagues "we're not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous." With Trump endorsing primary challengers against two of his own incumbents and holding a bipartisan housing bill hostage over a voting measure that lacks 60 votes, Republicans head into the November midterms publicly fractured.
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