Senate Republicans rejected a war powers resolution on Iran hours after President Donald Trump criticized GOP senators who had supported a similar measure the day before.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senate Republicans late Wednesday blocked a war powers resolution seeking to limit President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran, reversing course one day after a similar measure passed with support from four GOP senators.
The measure failed 47-50-1 shortly before midnight, after Trump met privately with Senate Republicans and criticized members of his party who had voted Tuesday to rebuke his handling of the Iran war.
After the vote, Trump praised the shift in a Truth Social post, highlighting changes by Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
“Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed. Thank you to Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all. This vote puts Iran on notice!” Trump wrote.
The Wednesday vote came after a tense Capitol lunch between Trump and Senate Republicans. Trump had been invited by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and had been expected to push senators to pass the SAVE America Act, his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. Instead, much of the private discussion focused on the Senate’s Tuesday vote on Iran war powers.
Four Republicans had joined Democrats Tuesday in adopting a largely symbolic resolution directing Trump to end hostilities with Iran or seek congressional authorization to continue them. The measure had also passed the House, though both resolutions were largely symbolic and did not carry the full force of law.
Cassidy, one of the Republicans who supported Tuesday’s measure, said he defended his vote during the closed-door meeting.
“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy told reporters afterward. “This was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”
Cassidy said he and Trump “went back and forth” and that he “matched his tone and volume” before eventually de-escalating. Cassidy said he did not want to be bullied.
“I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing,” Cassidy said after the meeting.
According to a person familiar with the private meeting, Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down and at one point called him a “lunatic.” The person was not authorized to discuss the meeting publicly.
Hours later, Cassidy went to the White House for a briefing on Iran from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff. He then returned to the Capitol and voted against the separate but nearly identical war powers resolution.
“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,” Cassidy wrote on X.
Paul, who has repeatedly voted with Democrats to halt the war, voted present Wednesday. He said on X that he did so “to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and a small group of Senate Republicans called Trump after the vote. Thune told reporters the president was “pleased with the outcome.”
Trump had criticized the Republican senators who voted against his Iran position, calling them “losers.” After the lunch, he told reporters the meeting had gone well while hinting at internal disagreements.
“We like everyone in the room,” Trump said. “I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”
The dispute over Iran came as Trump continued trying to turn a preliminary agreement with Iran into a final settlement after months of war that unsettled global energy markets and exposed disagreements within the Republican Party.
The Senate left town for a two-week recess after the Wednesday vote.
The Capitol meeting also unfolded against a separate conflict over Trump’s decision to delay signing a bipartisan housing bill. Trump had been scheduled to sign the legislation, which passed both chambers overwhelmingly and was promoted by Republicans as an election-year response to high housing costs.
Before the lunch, Trump canceled the signing ceremony and said he would not sign the bill until Congress passed the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voters. Trump has pushed Republicans for months to focus on the bill and to change Senate rules, though Thune has repeatedly told him the measure lacks the votes to overcome the filibuster.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said before the lunch that he did not understand why Trump was holding the housing bill “hostage” for a voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”
“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said.
Thune said the housing measure was “an affordability issue” and said, “eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”
Trump’s refusal to sign the housing bill created concern among some Republicans that the party could lose attention on affordability ahead of the November midterm elections.
The housing dispute is one of several recent tensions between Trump and Senate Republicans. 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 Republicans to defend the Iran war even as some question its goals and duration.
Trump has also endorsed primary challengers to two Republican incumbents who had previously supported much of his agenda, Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both became more critical of Trump after losing reelection contests.
“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said before the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”
Thune has said he supports the SAVE America Act but has repeatedly warned that there are not enough votes to eliminate the filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation in the 53-47 Senate. Democrats are uniformly opposed to the voting bill.
“I think people at some point have to come to grips with that,” Thune said.
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