WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� 鈥淲ould you really like to know?鈥� Sen. asked President .
Just hours after that Republicans hoped would boost their election-year prospects, the president was attending a private lunch Wednesday with the Senate GOP. Trump wondered aloud how anyone could have voted for a a day earlier that seeks to block further U.S. military action against .
Cassidy, one of the four Republicans who backed the measure, was ready with an answer.
鈥淚 stood and said, 鈥榊ou have not told the American people what’s going on,’鈥� Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, recounted to reporters afterward. 鈥淭his is supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.鈥�
Things deteriorated from there.
When Cassidy told Trump he would continue voting for war powers resolutions until there’s a congressional briefing on developments in Iran, the senator recalled that Trump 鈥渄id not particularly care for my comments鈥� and 鈥渞aised his voice.鈥�
Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting. At one point, the president called the senator a 鈥渓unatic,” the person said.
Cassidy acknowledged losing his temper, which he said was 鈥渘ot appropriate.鈥�
鈥淏ut I again matched his tone and volume,” Cassidy said, before recalling that he eventually sat down. 鈥淎nd so I sat down and tried to de-escalate. I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we’re being told.鈥�
Within hours, Cassidy was invited to the White House to receive the briefing he had requested with Vice President JD Vance and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Cassidy then stood down, returning to the Capitol and casting a late-night vote against a similar war powers resolution. This time, Republicans blocked the measure.
鈥淚 want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran,鈥� Cassidy posted on X. 鈥淚 appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns.鈥�
A remarkable exchange between a GOP senator and Trump
Still, the back-and-forth was a remarkable exchange between a two-term Republican senator and a president from his own party. It’s a departure from the posture many congressional Republicans have adopted during Trump’s second term as they mostly avoid criticizing him in public while expressing frustration in private.
And the comments reflected the among congressional Republicans about the durability of their thin majorities on Capitol Hill in this year’s elections, particularly in the turmoil of the Iran war. And it reflected the long-festering enmity between Trump and Cassidy that came to a head this year.
Trump effectively ended Cassidy’s political career by backing a Republican rival in Louisiana’s Republican primary. Cassidy last month became the first incumbent senator in 14 years to , driven largely by his vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial for his role in the , attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Cassidy said Trump brought up his election defeat as they argued. He described the president’s comments as part of 鈥渨hatever comes to mind as to demean another person.鈥�
Before his losing the primary, Cassidy spent much of his time trying to make amends, largely supporting the president’s policies and nominees. He has taken a tougher stance since losing his primary, freed from having to face Republican voters who remain loyal to Trump.
鈥淚t does not appear, although I don鈥檛 know for sure, that the course of (the Iran war) is going the way that we were told,鈥� Cassidy said. 鈥淎nd so 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.鈥�
Republicans try to play down the episode
Cassidy’s colleagues didn’t offer robust support, with Trump in the room, though Cassidy said they didn’t have much of a chance.
鈥淭he president just kind of talked and talked and talked and talked and talked,鈥� Cassidy said.
The White House didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment on Cassidy鈥檚 characterization of the meeting and some Republicans tried to play down the clash.
鈥淵’all act like no one ever yelled at each other,鈥� Sen. , R-Kansas, told reporters.
Sen. , an Alabama Republican and former college football coach, described the encounter as 鈥渉alftime talk鈥� in the aftermath of the senator’s defeat.
鈥淧robably needed to be said, end of the day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think they got a lot of 鈥� both of them 鈥� got a lot off their chests.鈥�
Others noted dryly that the meeting had been advertised as a chance for Trump and the Republicans to get on the same page.
鈥淭hat was quite a unity message,鈥� said Sen. , the Texas Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger just weeks after Cassidy.
Asked if he was being sarcastic, Cornyn stepped into an elevator and let the doors close.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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