Senate GOP Reverses War Powers Vote    06/25 06:12

   Senate Republicans who were berated by President Donald Trump over 
opposition to his war in Iran held a late-night vote Wednesday to try to 
appease him, rejecting a war powers resolution a day after a similar measure 
passed.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans who were berated by President Donald 
Trump over opposition to his war in Iran held a late-night vote Wednesday to 
try to appease him, rejecting a war powers resolution a day after a similar 
measure passed.

   Trump harangued GOP senators face to face earlier in the day for allowing a 
vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has 
diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought 
much of the chamber's business to a halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words 
with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with 
Democrats on the measure.

   Hours later, though, Cassidy was invited to receive a personal briefing on 
the war at the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve 
Witkoff. Cassidy then returned to the Capitol to vote against a 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," said Cassidy, who lost 
reelection last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, in a post on X.

   Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has repeatedly voted with 
Democrats to halt the war, voted present this time "to give the President more 
space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace," he said on X. The measure 
failed 47-50-1 just before midnight on Wednesday, and the Senate then left town 
for a two-week recess.

   It's unclear whether the move will be enough to appease Trump, who had 
called the Republicans "losers" for voting against his war and had called 
Cassidy a "lunatic" at the lunch after their tense exchange. But the vote was a 
clear signal to the president from Republican senators who still want to 
placate him, despite increasing tensions in recent weeks and his decision 
Wednesday morning to reverse himself and delay signing a housing bill that 
received overwhelming bipartisan support.

   Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and a small group of his Senate 
GOP colleagues called Trump after the vote. Thune told reporters that the 
president was "pleased with the outcome."

   Trump later thanked Thune in a social media post and noted that Cassidy and 
Paul had switched their votes. "This vote puts Iran on notice!" he wrote.

   The war powers measure blocked by the Senate on Wednesday was on a separate 
track from the nearly identical resolution adopted on Tuesday, which had also 
been passed by the House. Both votes were largely symbolic, and the measures do 
not carry the full force of law.

   Cassidy had sharp words for Trump

   Invited by Florida Sen. Rick Scott to speak at a GOP luncheon in the 
Capitol, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door 
meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the 
conversation was more focused on Tuesday's vote on war powers.

   Most Republicans stayed quiet. But Cassidy stood up and defended his vote.

   "I stood and said, 'You have not told the American people what's going on,'" 
Cassidy told reporters after the meeting. "This was supposed to last four 
weeks, it's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved."

   The two men "went back and forth," Cassidy said, and he "matched his tone 
and volume." Cassidy said that he eventually de-escalated, but he did not want 
to be bullied.

   "I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing," he said afterward.

   Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar 
with the private meeting who was not authorized to discuss it. At one point, 
the president called the senator a "lunatic."

   Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had "a really great meeting." But 
he hinted at the discord.

   "We like everyone in the room," Trump told reporters on his way out. "I 
don't like a few people, but that's OK."

   The luncheon capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans 
and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday's vote was the first time the 
Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war. Trump made clear he 
was in no mood to compromise before it even started, calling off a scheduled 
signing ceremony on a housing bill that passed both chambers overwhelmingly 
this week and that GOP lawmakers were touting as an election-year achievement.

   Trump reverses on housing bill

   Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the president 
after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump upended their plans when 
he declared on social media just beforehand that he wouldn't sign the 
legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof 
of citizenship for all voters.

   North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he doesn't know why Trump is holding 
the housing bill "hostage" for the voting bill that "will never pass in this 
Congress."

   "It makes no sense to me," Tillis said as he walked into the luncheon.

   Thune said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is "an 
affordability issue," and that "eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it."

   It's unclear if Trump might veto the legislation or if the late Wednesday 
night vote will change his outlook. But by rejecting a public bill signing, 
Republicans worry that Trump is indicating a level of indifference to voters' 
affordability concerns heading into November's midterm elections.

   Trump and Senate Republicans have been at odds

   Trump's move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks of being 
at odds with Senate Republicans.

   Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked 
them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and 
forced them to defend the Iran war even as they question the strategy and 
endgame.

   Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after 
endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously 
reliable votes for his agenda -- Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both men 
have become more critical of Trump since losing reelection.

   "If we're going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same 
page," Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. "We're not on the same page now, and 
that I think is dangerous."

   Trump pushes Thune on SAVE America Act

   Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and 
focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even though Thune has repeatedly 
told him that neither has the votes.

   While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the 
president, he has spent much of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn't 
want to hear. Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference 
want to see the voting bill pass, "it's just not realistic."

   Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and 
has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren't enough votes 
to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60-vote threshold to pass most bills in 
the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

   "I think people at some point have to come to grips with that," Thune said.