Tensions were already running high when President Donald Trump arrived at the Senate GOP’s closed-door lunch on Wednesday. Within minutes, he was in a shouting match.
Trump’s meeting with Senate Republicans — which lasted just over an hour at the Capitol — was described by various sources as “tense,” “spirited” and “lively.”
One source familiar with the conversation, granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting, said the gathering was a “venting session” for Trump.
The lunch came at a rocky but pivotal moment in Trump’s relationship with Senate Republicans. In recent weeks, GOP lawmakers have shown greater willingness to challenge the president, whether by criticizing his efforts in Iran, rejecting his demands to pass a hardline voting bill, or denouncing his pick to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
At the same time, Trump has continued to frustrate lawmakers with his abrupt decisions, which have repeatedly derailed GOP plans on Capitol Hill.
He’s thrown Republicans for a loop not only with the chaotic content of his decisions but with the erratic timing of his play calls. His announcement Wednesday that he was canceling a bill-signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing package — with the stage literally set and some members already making their way to the event — was only the latest example.
But if Trump was in a mood to lash out at Republicans, Republicans were also in a mood to lash out at Trump.
When Trump finally came before senators on Wednesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. — who recently lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger — confronted the president over the Iran Memorandum of Understanding, according to a source familiar with the conversation. Cassidy began “yelling” at the president.
Cassidy told reporters the interaction started when Trump asked the room why anyone would vote for the Iran war powers resolution. Cassidy said he asked Trump if he really wanted the answer. Trump responded that he did.
It went off the rails from there.
According to two sources, Trump eventually told Cassidy to sit down, but Cassidy refused. He raised his voice even higher. Trump responded by calling Cassidy a “lunatic.” Cassidy referred to Trump as “brother,” prompting Trump to reply that he wasn’t his “brother.”
Eventually, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., tried to deescalate the situation, and other senators quietly encouraged Cassidy to sit down.
After the meeting, however, Cassidy showed no signs of backing down.
“I make no apologies for standing up to the president, if you will, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate and more information be shared with the American people,” he told reporters. “I make no apologies for that.”
“And if someone tries to bully me into not asking that question, I’m not going to accept that either,” Cassidy said. “I am sticking up for the American people, even if I’m speaking to the president.”
Cassidy has been among the most vocal about Trump’s emerging deal with Iran, writing on X last week that the agreement was “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
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But the clash with Cassidy was just one tense moment in a meeting full of them.
At another point during the lunch, Trump went after Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., for missing Tuesday’s vote on an Iran war powers resolution, according to a source. The war powers resolution — which will not carry the force of law — was ultimately adopted, 48-50, and Trump was angry that McCormick missed the vote. Never mind that, even if McCormick were present, the outcome would have been the same, or that McCormick missed the vote because he was in Pennsylvania with Trump at a rally.
Asked afterward whether Trump had yelled at him during the meeting, McCormick sidestepped the question.
“The food was great,” he said.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., later told reporters that Trump was “mad as a murder hornet” about the war powers vote.
“And I don’t blame him. Put yourself in his shoes,” Kennedy said. “He’s right in the middle of delicate negotiations and the Senate votes to get out of Iran. And it upset him.”
Later in the meeting, Trump turned his attention to the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo identification to vote, sharply restrict mail-in voting, prohibit transgender women from playing in men’s sports and ban transgender surgery for children.
Just hours before, Trump had refused to sign the bipartisan housing bill until lawmakers somehow pass the partisan SAVE America Act — despite the fact that the legislation lacks 50 Republican votes, let alone the 60 votes needed in the Senate.
According to a source familiar with the conversation, Trump told Thune he needs to be a leader and get the votes for the bill, even if that means effectively ending the filibuster.
Thune has repeatedly noted that he doesn’t have the votes to end the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
By the end of the meeting, senators appeared to have received few answers and little reassurance. Trump did little to ease the mounting tensions between Republicans and the White House.
“He closed the meeting talking about the importance of unity, which I agree is very important,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told MS NOW. “But spent most of the time criticizing members of the conference.”
Jack Fitzpatrick
Jack Fitzpatrick covers Congress for MS NOW. He previously reported for Bloomberg Government, Morning Consult and National Journal. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arizona State University.
Lillie Boudreaux
Nora McKee
Nora McKee is the D.C. coordinator for MS NOW.