Republican Rebel Caves to Trump Hours After Shouting Match

Politics admin June 25, 2026 0 Comments

Republican Rebel Caves to Trump Hours After Shouting Match

Republican rebel Bill Cassidy dramatically flipped to support Donald Trump in a Senate vote, just hours after the president reportedly called him a “lunatic” in a fiery shouting match.

The Louisiana senator, 68, got on Trump’s bad side on Tuesday when he was one of four Republican “losers” who voted to approve a war powers resolution to block his military action against Iran.

After that defeat, Trump, 80, said the senators had “provided aid and comfort [to] the Enemy.”

During a tense Senate GOP lunch with Trump on Wednesday, Cassidy told the president he would continue to vote to approve the war powers measures until Congress and the public were given more information on the conflict.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on. It was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what’s going on,’” Cassidy told reporters after the lunch.

Cassidy said Trump didn’t want to hear his question, and interrupted him.

“I didn’t care to be interrupted,” Cassidy said. “I felt like I was trying to get answers for the American people and I’m not going to be bullied when I’m trying to get answers for the American people. And so…it escalated from there. At some point, it de-escalated.”

When a reporter asked Cassidy if Trump had called him a “lunatic,” as had been rumored, he did not deny it, but stated, “Can I imagine that the president called me things that would be said on a school… playground? Yeah, I can imagine that.”

After Trump left the meeting, he said, “I like everybody, really, in the room. I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK. I think you know who they are.”

Louisiana Republican John Kennedy said Trump was “mad as a murder hornet” about the vote during lunch.

“Put yourself in his shoes,” Kennedy told reporters. “He’s right in the middle of delicate negotiations and the Senate votes to get out of Iran.”

However, Cassidy’s tune soon changed, seemingly after a “thorough briefing” on the Iran situation from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff on Iran after the lunch on Wednesday.

“I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” Cassidy posted on X.

A gleeful Trump posted on Truth Social after the result at 11:25 p.m, saying, “This vote puts Iran on notice!”

Wednesday’s late-night vote saw the final tally sit at 47-50-1. Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski once again voted for the resolution. Cassidy was not the only GOP senator to change his vote. Rand Paul said in a statement before the vote that he would be voting `present’ instead of `no’ to not put negotiations at risk.

“Since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so,” Paul posted on X. “My vote of present is a way to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.”

Democrat Tim Maine said that Wednesday’s defeat came down to the “temper tantrum” Trump threw during his lunch, and said it did not negate the passage of Tuesday’s resolution to block Trump from resuming the war.

“The vote is of no consequence and does not undo the expressed position of Congress that further war against Iran is illegal unless Congress votes for it,” Kaine said.

During Wednesday’s meeting on Capitol Hill, Trump was critical of Republicans Dave McCormick and Mitch McConnell for missing the previous day’s vote. However, McConnell remains hospitalized, and McCormick was on Air Force One with the president en route to an event in Pennsylvania during the vote.